Falling Apart
by CptFunhat
Summary: Completed! When Brendan and Lily, once in love and now in hate, are forced to pair up for a DDR tournament in New York, will they learn to live, and perhaps love, again? Lots of drama and angst, but it's really good. Chapter 18 has been redone. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Dropping onto the bar behind her, Lily panted heavily, watching the DDR scores on the screen come to a stop. This was it, she was either done, or just beginning. If she lost this one, it was back to the arcades for another year or so until she was good enough to compete in school. She gasped when the scores came up, both A's. Looking over at the girl next to her, she saw the same pained expression on her face. Now it was either a judge's call or 'good sportsmanship' that determined the winner.

A teacher was called up, thankfully a younger one that actually knew about this game. After close examination of the screen, he noticed 15 more perfects on Lily's side and declared a winner. Shaking hands with the girl next to her, she muttered things about it being close and stepped down from the pad. Not many people were still in the gym that was set up as the competition. It was past midnight, so many had grown bored and left or been defeated and left.

A few people congradulated her on their way out and she nodded, picking up her water and drinking what was left. It was semi-warm and not very refreshing, but much better than nothing. Looking around, she saw the boys were still competing. The competition was 5 dollars to get into, 2 dollars just to watch, and the top boy and the top girl were sent on to a professional tournament. She was going to New York City. Not very far away from New Jersey, but she'd never been.

Wandering over to the boys' side, she saw that most of the people were gone, only a few crowded around the last two male competitors. Unfortuneately, one of them was Brendan, her ex boyfriend. The other was a somewhat nerdy guy she'd seen around school but never talked to. She hoped the nerd would win. Sitting down in a chair, she played with her empty water bottle, watching the dancers go at it. She could tell Brendan was gonna win already. The nerd was nervous and kept missing. Lily sighed, getting up and throwing her bottle in the trash. Turning toward the door, she started walking when she was stopped by a voice on a megaphone.

"Tonight's winners have been announced. Brendan Hawthorne and Lily Quintine." Lily shivered as his name rang out so quickly. "Please, you two, come to me and we'll get everything put together so you can be on your way to the tournament this weekend."

She sighed and turned around but stopped dead when her eyes fell center on a chest. A male chest. She followed the chest to the neck to the face and saw Brendan staring back at her. Her mouth went dry and her knees shook. She felt as if she was going to fall, his hand shot out and grabbed her upper arm. Lily almost did fall, but his other hand steadied her even more.

"You ok?" He asked, his green-blue eyes staring into hers.

"I'm fine." She jerked her arm away. "Let's go up there." Tossing her long, reddish brown hair that was currently done up in a pony-tail for the tournament, she sped past him to the make-shift stage area. Brendan followed behind her and they stood side by side while a few people applauded, most had left after they were announced and they were handed packets to sign and get signed with details about the up-coming competition.

After more applause, they were allowed to leave and Lily made her way to the door, pulling her hoodie over her head. It was early December and freezing outside, especially at night. She would've brought a heavier coat, but it was a DDR competition and she didn't want to leave it unguarded. Standing outside, she shivered and looked around for Wayne's car. It wasn't there.

"Great, just fucking great..." She muttered, rubbing her hands. He had probably come here early, gotten impatient and left. Or he just never came. Sighing, she shoved her hands in her hoodie's front pocket and started down the sidewalk, away from her high school. About halfway down, a large car drove by her, too close to the sidewalk and hit a puddle, throwing water over half of her body. Screaming in surprise, and from the almost freezing water, she shook what she could from her sleeves and slid the hoodie off, finding it more logical to walk in the cold with a wet shirt than a wet hoodie. Her shoes made squishy noises as she sped up, the cold hitting her fast and almost stealing her breath.

"Assholes..." She sighed, wrapping her arms around herself, trying to keep warmer. She was about halfway down the second street when another car pulled up next to her, stopping. She tried to ignore it, turning her head away and hoping whoever it was wasn't some kidnapper. It was nearly 1 AM, prime time for pedaphiles looking for high school girls.

"Lily? Why're you walking?" The car's window rolled down and she looked over to see Brendan's figure behind the wheel of his black truck. He opened the door and came around to her. "Why are you not wearing your jacket? What the hell, is that water all over you?" He opened the passenger door. "C'mon, I'll take you where you need to go."

"No, I'm fine." She said firmly, tossing her hair once more at him and continuing on. His hand shot out and grabbed her arm. His grip was steady, but gentle, and it felt so warm against her chilled skin, making her blush.

"You might catch pneumonia if you don't, Lily. Get in the car. This isn't about you and me, it's about your health." He pulled her softly until she was looking at his face. "Get _in_,"

"Gah, fine." Pulling her arm away, she approached the open door and climbed in. He shut it behind her and she shivered, pulling her knees up against her chest. He got in the driver's seat and started the car, rolling up her window and blasting the heat. Her fingers were nearly numb, but she held them up near the vents.

"When you get home, you have to take a warm bath. I don't want you getting sick." He said after a little while.

"I'll be fine, I'll just change and go to bed. Don't want to wake up my parents with running water." Lily shrugged, her teeth beginning to chatter. He looked at her and frowned.

"You HAVE to get into something warmer than your body right now. I'll take you to my appartment and you can use my bathtub. Then I'll take you home." Brendan replied after a moment's thought.

"I'm NOT going to your house! No fucking way!" Lily exclaimed, sitting up fully and glaring at him.

"Well, you're going to get very sick if you don't and I don't want that. You're just going to get your body heat back to normal then I'll take you home. It'll be ok."

"Wayne'll kill you if he finds out." She growled.

"Ha, please, I've seen the way he treats you, Lily. Why do you even date him? He'd just use that as an excuse to break up with you." He said, no hint of a smile on his face. Lily quieted her complaints quickly, looking out the window.

Convincing herself not to cry in front of him, once again, she pulled her knees tighter against her chest.

"Look, I didn't mean for it to come out that way, Lily. I'm sorry. But it did have to be said by someone. He treats you like crap and you don't do anything about it! If I had given you that, you would've kicked my ass out the door. I don't know why you don't do that to him. I know it's not about your image, cause you don't really give a shit about that, but it does puzzle me." Brendan said as they turned into his appartment complex.

Lily didn't reply, merely stared out the window. When she didn't say anything back, he dropped the conversation with a shrug and pulled into his parking spot. The car stopped and he turned to look at her. She pretended not to notice and reached for the door handle, but his other hand covered hers in the middle of the seat. She looked over to find his face very close to hers, his eyes glowing with something she couldn't really figure out...

"Lily... Listen, I..." He started, then paused. A second later, he pulled away and shook his head. She was glad it was dark, because she was blushing madly. Brendan opened his door and stepped out. She followed him shortly, almost gasping as the freezing air hit her skin once more, making her shiver. He waited up for her and then they set off for his appartment. After climbing two flights of stairs, he pulled out a key and walked down a hall, turning to the right in the middle and unlocking the door. She followed him inside, allowing him to take her jacket from her. He left the room for a moment with it and returned without.

"I put it in the wash. I'll do that with your clothes, too. Just give them to me." He held out his hand and she just stared at him.

"You want me to just take off my clothes right now? In front of you?" She began blushing once again.

"Well, it's not like I haven't seen you.."

"We were going out then! This is totally different, Brendan!" Lily shrieked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Just start a bath and I'll go change in there."

Brendan shrugged and led her down a short hallway, into a small room with a tiny tub, barely big enough for her to sit and stretch her legs out in. He bent over and started the water, turning back to her quickly. She soon found herself up against a wall with him between she and a bathroom sink. "The water takes a little while to warm up, but you should really get out of those clothes." He muttered, apparently not noticing her increasing blush with him that close.

"Ok." She replied as he nodded and left, closing the door behind himself. Lily sighed, relaxing her shoulders and looking in the mirror. Man, was she blushing... If he didn't notice that, he was truly an idiot. But she could always blame it on the cold. Yeah, the cold was making her blush, that was it. Shaking her head and stripping down, she bundled up her clothes and opened the door just enough for her to set them outside it and shut it once more. A moment later, she heard him picking them up and walking away. Putting the top seat on, she wrapped a towel around herself and sat down, putting her hand under the running water. It was still cold and she pulled back, wiping the water on the towel.

Suddenly the door opened again and she jumped as Brendan entered, setting a new bar of soap down for her. "I didn't think you'd wanna use my Tommy stuff." He said quickly before exiting. Lily recovered from her shock and jumped up, throwing the door open.

"Hey! Ass! I could've been NAKED in the TUB!" She yelled. He was already at the end of the hallway, but he stopped and turned around, smiling slightly.

"Yeah, good thing you weren't, though." He shrugged as she whirled around, picking up her shoe from the floor and hurling it at him. It hit his chest and bounced off, knocking him back a little.

"ASS!" She shrieked before slamming the door shut and tightening the towel around her. Locking the door for good measure, she checked the water again and found it pleasantly warm this time. Leaving the towel behind, she sank into the hot water and sighed out loud with pleasure as the heat washed over her too-cool skin, making her shudder in delight. Just then, she could hear her cell phone ringing out somewhere in his appartment. It was Wayne's ringtone and she groaned, hoping to God that Brendan would know enough NOT to answe-

"Hello?" She heard through the wall and she screamed out in anger, dashing out of the tub and wrapping the towel back around her, then unlocked the door, nearly slipping on the floor with her wet feet and rushed down the hallway, only to find Brendan sitting in a chair, reading a book, her cell phone next to him on a table.

"Why did you answer that!" She cried, rushing over and picking her cell phone up, quickly looking through recent calls to see it was really Wayne calling. Turning back to look at him, she could only imagine how Wayne had reacted to a boy picking up her phone, despite the fact his female, cheerleading friends, often pick up his cell phone with a much 'distracted' hello.

"It rang?" He blinked at her, putting his finger in his book and closing it, clearly not interested in putting it down yet just to talk to her. "It was your asshole boyfriend, by the way."

"I know it was, what did you say to him? Better yet, what did he say to you?" She crossed her arms over her chest, making sure her towel was securely wrapped around her body.

"He sounded drunk and he kept asking for you, so I don't think he really cared that I picked up. I explained to him several times that you were just using my bathroom for the moment, but I don't think he cared. He got impatient when I didn't immediately summon you and started yelling at me for making moves on his girl. I told him, 'You know what, jerk face? You don't deserve her, and I'm sure that despite the fact you're starring quarterback, there are quite a few things I could tell my father about you that would get you arrested in a heartbeat. And I highly doubt any of the females I would question would disagree with me upon certain charges.' He got all mad and hung up. I'm sorry if he breaks up with you, but if he does over that, he really didn't appreciate you. I already know he doesn't, but still. Proof." Brendan then went back to his book, apparently more interested in that.

"You what? What the hell are you talking about? Why would you get your dad involved in this?" Lily asked, semi-stunned.

"My dad's a cop and, Lily, he talks about everything too loudly in my English class. Including all the young ladies who he 'persuaded' to do him 'favors'." Brendan set his book down once again, this time removing his finger and folding the corner as a bookmark. "He never talks about you though. Just complains you don't want to do anything to him. But that was before Winter Break... He hasn't forced you to do anything, has he?"

"Why do you want to know? I mean, why do you even care? You BROKE UP WITH ME because... I don't even know why except some bullshit excuse that I was 'cheating on you'. Was I? No. Did you believe me? No. So why the hell should I tell you anything that I have to deal with that is partly your fault!" Lily's eyes filled with tears and her voice shook a bit. Before he could react, she had turned and darted back to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

Brendan raced after her, turning the knob before she could lock it and forced the door open slowly, shoving his foot in so that she couldn't shut it on him. Sticking his head inside, he looked at her and let out a small gasp. In the bright light of the bathroom he could see bruises on her shoulders and neck. Big, slightly red and dark purple imprints of hands all over her chest. "Oh my God, Lily... What did he do to you?"

"Nothing! Leave me alone!" She screamed, tears streaming down her face as she lowered her head to cover them up with her hair. Finally, she leaned against the door, crying and wiping her eyes with her hand. Slowly, she lowered herself to the floor and pulled her knees to her chest, hugging them close. Brendan forced the door open the rest of the way and lowered himself onto one knee, listening to her soft whimpers.

"Lily... What did he do?" He whispered, reaching out and gingerly touching her arm.

"Don't touch me!" She cried, scraping his hand away with her fingers before clamping her hands over her ears and burrying her face in her knees. "Don't touch me..!"

Moving closer, Brendan wrapped one arm around her shoulder, forcing a hand from her ear and murmured, "It's not Wayne, it's me, Brendan... It'll be ok..."

Lifting her head, she looked at him through her long, brown hair and he pushed it away from her face. Her eyes were red and puffy, tears were still coming out and he did his best to wipe them away. "It's all my fault..." She whispered, putting her face in her knees again, rocking back and forth. "If I had just done something when he asked... He wouldn't have..."

Cringing, Brendan slid the other arm around her and held her close. "It's not your fault, Lily. There's nothing you could've done... This is all his fault and I swear, Lily, he'll get his."


	2. Chapter 2

Just then, Lily gave out a huge sneeze, sniffling a bit. Another one followed quickly. Brendan tilted his head and looked at her face, which was entirely flushed. He felt her forehead and pulled his hand back, it was warm. She probably had a fever or was getting one. "Nevermind that right now, you need to get back in the hot water and let your body warm up. Can you do that for me, Lily?"

She nodded, anything to get him out of that room for now. She needed to think. She'd told him too much and she needed some way to take it all back. He smiled softly and stood up, helping her up as well. Lily watched him leave and locked the door before removing her towel and sinking once more into her steaming and very inviting bath. Laying down as best as she could, all scrounched up, she ran a plan through her mind. First, she could get herself back to normal and get her clothes back. Then, he would undoubtably question her some more about Wayne. Brendan was the LAST person she wanted to talk to about Wayne, no matter what he was doing to her. She could tell him that she was lying, just to make him feel sorry for her... But he probably wouldn't buy it. Or she could just deny she said anything and deny anything had happened between them...

But something had happened between she and Wayne. Something that kept happening every night she went to sleep, in her dreams, he'd come back and do those horrible things to her, touch her where she wasn't asking him to, make her touch him... Lily shuddered and let her head dip back more into the water, when it came to rest, only her nose and some of her mouth was sticking above the water, letting her breath comfortably.

It was her own fault for letting them wind up alone in his car together. He was drunk, as usual. She just wanted to go home, but he wanted to mess around. She kept telling him she wasn't ready, she didn't want to... She had almost unlocked the door and gotten out when he grabbed her hands, pulling her up against him. He was pushing her down on the seat, his breath reaked of alcohol, his hands were all over her body, touching and groping, shoving her down. Lily was screaming at him to stop, but he wouldn't... He..wouldn't stop...

"She should be out by now..." Brendan muttered to himself, pacing outside the door. Stopping, he pressed his ear up against, listening intently. A soft cry came from within followed by a splash of water. "Lily?" He called, knocking on the door. There was no reply, he tried the handle but it was locked. "Lily?" He asked, louder this time. Still no reply. Bracing himself, he slammed his shoulder against the door. It didn't give, but did move quite a bit. He tried again and it busted open.

Lily lay in the tub, mostly submurged in the water, her eyes closed and she seemed asleep. Except, she was squirming, her hands seemed to be clawing at an imaginary attacker. He ran forward and dropped on his knees by the tub, his hands grabbing her shoulders and pulling her up gently. Her nails were quickly digging into his skin, but he didn't let go until she was sitting up and leaning against the wall.

"Lily!" He shouted, holding her face in his hands. "Wake up!"

She let out a sharp cry and shot forward, her eyes wide awake now. She looked all around the room then back at him, then down at herself, naked, in the tub. Then her eyes centered back on him and narrowed.

Brendan let go of her bare shoulders and stepped back as she grabbed a towel and covered herself, blushing madly. "What the hell do you think you were doing!" She shreiked. Brendan himself was blushing, looking away from her body.

"You were screaming... It's been like, a hour, I guess you fell asleep... But you were having a nightmare. Would you rather I'd just let you drown or something?" He said softly. Lily looked back at the water, suddenly realizing it was no longer hot and comforting, but now luke-warm and giving her goose bumps.

"Wait, you said an hour?" She looked back at him, confused.

"Yeah, it's like, 2 AM now..."

Lily shot up out of the water, wrapping the now wet towel around her. "I have to go! If my parents find out I'm out this late, they're gonna kill me... I was supposed to be home BEFORE 1... Shit, shit, shit..." She stepped out of the tub, unplugging the water stopper first. "Where are my clothes?" She was heading out the door when he stopped her.

"Lily, you can't go home now. We have to talk." Brendan said firmly, his eyes meeting hers. She froze up.

"About what?"

"Wayne. What he's doing to you, what he's doing to other women, you can't just let this go."

"No, we don't. We don't have to talk about anything. I don't need any help, everything's fine. Just let me go home, please." Lily pleaded, her eyes wide and worried.

"Everything's fine? Everything's FINE! What the fuck were you crying for earlier, huh? And that dream you just had, where you tried to gouge my eyes out while I was waking you, look me in the eye and tell me you weren't dreaming about him and what he did." Brendan's jaw was squared and he was staring at her.

"I wasn't." She said quickly, her eyes averting his and instead staring at the wall behind his head. "I don't even remember what I was dreaming about. And I'm glad I almost gouged out your eyes, who knows? Maybe you weren't in here to 'save me' from my nightmare, maybe it was just to cup a feel while I was sleeping and you just made up the nightmare?"

"Don't you DARE accuse me of doing anything so vile. I'm NOT Wayne, Lily. What the hell happened to you? The old Lily wouldn't have taken shit from a guy like Wayne, wouldn't have given him the time of day, much less dated him. The old Lily didn't take shit from anyone."

"Well, just MAYBE you BROKE the old Lily, huh?" She spun on her heel with that and shoved past him, clutching her towel to her as she stomped down the hallway, looking around for any clue to a laundry room. Opening a random door, she was pleased to find a washer and dryer staring back at her. Opening the dryer, she stuck her head half-inside, poking around, but returned with nothing but his boxers and shirts.

"Looking for these?" Came a voice behind her. She turned to find Brendan holding a stack of neatly folded Lily laundry. Her panties and bra were even on top, conveniently. She growled and headed toward him, trying to snatch them from his hand, but he held them up. Fully knowing she couldn't reach, she just glared at him, rage brewing inside.

"Give. Them. BACK." She hissed, her fists clenching.

"Only if you promise you'll talk to me." He retorted, holding them up even higher, daring her to jump.

"Fuck you." Lily replied quickly, even giving him the finger for emphasis.

"Then you don't get these."

"Fine. Keep them. I'll steal YOUR clothes." She smirked before turning around and opening a door. She made sure it was his room and locked it before forcing it shut on him.

Brendan stood there in the hallway, holding clothes up over his head, a blank look on his face. She'd rather steal his clothes and let him keep hers then talk to him about what Wayne was doing to her. Slowly, he lowered the clothes, sighing softly. Dropping them outside the door, he knocked, "You can have them."

She opened the door and picked up the pile of clothes, sending him a glare before shutting it again, presumeably to get dressed.


	3. Chapter 3

Brendan stood there in the hallway, holding clothes up over his head, a blank look on his face. She'd rather steal his clothes and let him keep hers then talk to him about what Wayne was doing to her. Slowly, he lowered the clothes, sighing softly. Dropping them outside the door, he knocked, "You can have them."

She opened the door and picked up the pile of clothes, sending him a glare before shutting it again, presumeably to get dressed.

Brendan stood outside the door, resting his forehead against the wall with his hands shoved deep into his jeans' pockets. Lily stopped when she exited his room, fully dressed in her own clothes, looking much more like herself. Her hair was still wet, but she'd pulled it back into a pony-tail.

"Is it that bad to where you can't even talk to me about it?"

Lily froze, replying stiffly, "There's not thing to talk about. Wayne's just a little demanding some-"

"Dammit, Lily," Brendan clentched his fist and stepped back from the wall, worry and some anger in his eyes. "Why the hell are you just putting up with this? He's an asshole and obviously he's hurting you, but you're not doing anything about it." He turned to her and grabbed her arms, holding them tightly, but not hurtfully.

The way he was looking at her, so full of concern, just like he did when they were dating. When his love for her gave her life another meaning...

"Why does it matter to you? Why didn't you say anything to me before tonight? Did you wanna wait around until something bad happened to me, which wouldn't have happened if YOU hadn't have broken up with me for some bullshit reason, and THEN decide to swoop in and rescue me?" Lily cried in outrage, pulling away from his grasp. "Right now, the best thing you can do for me is to take me home and pretend we don't know each other and we'll never speak again."

"I can't do that, Lily. I can't just let you go back to him. That would make me just as guilty as me doing the same things to you." Brendan replied quickly.

"So what? I really don't care. Why should you? He'll dump me when he goes off to bigger and better things in college. He's my burden until then."

"But why the hell do you want him? You just said he was a burden. Break up with him, it's not like he'll not move on or something."

"Because then he'll be around and I'll have to think again."

"You'd rather he violate you every night than think? Think about what? What could be so bad that you have to be abused and raped to keep from thinking about it!"

"YOU! Ok? Whenever he's hurting me, or around me, or talking to me, I think about that and not how badly YOU hurt me! You breaking my heart was the worst feeling I've ever had! Bar none!"

Lily covered her mouth, shocked at what she'd just said.

Brendans eyes widened and he took a step toward her, "You stay with a guy who hurts you, because I hurt you?"

"I don't wanna talk about this anymore. I wanna go home," Lily whispered, her eyes stinging with tears as they avoided his.

"Lily... I... Uh..." He needed to think. "I'll take you home..." Fishing his keys out of his pocket, he started toward the door, herself on his heel.

He took her to his car and made sure she got in before going to the driver's seat and sliding in. The ride home was completely silent and Lily seemed lost in thought until he pulled into her driveway and she snapped out of it.

She removed her seatbelt and opened the car door, but stopped and shut it again, not all the way, looking over at him, "Look... Brendan, don't tell your dad about any of this. Please. And just forget about everything that was said tonight. It's late and I'm sure things will be much different in the morning." She said softly, not even giving him a chance to reply before she opened the door and stepped out.

He made sure she got to her door and inside safely before driving back to his appartment, his mind filled with everything that had happened tonight. He'd won the DDR tournament and was going to New York in two weeks, his ex-girlfriend was apparently raped and/or being raped by her new boyfriend and oh yeah, it was all his fault for breaking up with her.

It wasn't really all his fault. More like, ninety percent his fault. The rest was Anthony's... Anthony was the one who convinced him to break up with Lily because he kept telling Brendan that he was seeing her with other guys. True, half of her friends at the time were guys but he never thought she'd cheat on him with any of them.

No. They were in love.

Quite a mysterious feeling indeed. Along with jealousy and anger, the two feelings that caused their seperation. It started slowly, Brendan told Lily that Anthony was talking about seeing her with other men. Lily denied it and they laughed it off. But Anthony came up with a new story every week. Anthony was his best friend, why would he lie? It had to have been the truth, right?

After Anthony finally made the suggestion that she'd actually slept with one of them, Brendan left Lily, temporarily happy to do so. That didn't last long...

A week later, he walked in on a situation that included Anthony hitting on Lily, then asking her out. Her reply was a swift 'no' and dumped soda upon his head.

Brendan asked Anthony why he wanted to go out with her if she was A. his ex-girlfriend and B. who probably cheated on him. Anthony laughed at him. Laughed at him. "Dude, you didn't deserve her. She was too hot to be dating someone like you... You didn't even take the proper advantage of the kind of relationship you were in. C'mon, man."

Brendan had never been suspended before that day and that reply. Suspended for assault, but the charges were quickly dropped, thanks to his father. No one talked to him much after that.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Kinda late, but DDR isn't mine, even thought it's not mentioned often.

Hiya, sorry it took so long to write this chapter. School started back up and you should know how that goes. Feh, Algebra.

Anyway, here's chapter 4 of Dance Dancing in the Moonlight! Reviews are always appreciated and what motivate me to write more. Thanks to those who have reviewed.

He quickly realized that she'd never cheated on him and she'd told the truth the whole time, but he broke up with her anyway. He tried to correct his mistake and waited by her locker one day before school. She never came. He tried to track her down in the hallways, but he never once saw her. Not even at assemblies. It was like she'd completely dissappeared.

After a week or so, he grew desperate enough to actually ask a friend of Lily's where she was. The friend said he didn't know and Brendan should just leave her the hell alone.

At the beginning of this school year, his last, her third, he was an office aid 2nd period and one day found himself delivering a note to a Chemistry class. And there was Lily. Second row, very back. She didn't even look up when he entered and she never knew if she did see him.

They actually hadn't spoken in forever until this night. But the way she was acting around him, just as if they'd been talking, or fighting, forever. Brendan wondered if she thought about him as often as he thought about her. Probably not. She hated his guts, why dwell upon him any longer than she had to? Of course, she would have to when they went to New York for the tournament.

Maybe while they were there, he could talk to her. Get her to talk to him openly about Wayne. Perhaps even apologize to her for how he hurt her. Would she forgive him? Doubtful. And really, why should she? He'd really screwed up this one, and he wondered if there was any way to un-screw up it.

Lily crept down the hallway, pausing outside her parent's door. She listened intently and heard only their deep breathing as they slept. Continuing to her room, she shut the door gently and quickly, tugging off her hoodie. Moving to her closet, she pulled out some sleeping pants and changed into them, leaving on her regular shirt. She paused, lifting the top of her shirt and sniffing. She smelled like his house... Like him...

Sitting in her computer chair, she turned on her moniter and tapped the spacebar until it whirred to life, her log on screen (currently a sun setting over the ocean) appeared. She typed in her password and her desktop popped up. Clicking on AIM, she entered her password there and watched her buddy list come up.

_He _was on, but everyone else was away. Why she kept him on her buddy list, she didn't know. His screen name changed from idle to online and she minimized the list, opening Mozilla Firefox to check her email. Nothing but spam, and not the good kind. Mostly ads for herbal Viagra and Nigerian Royalty needing her help.

She sighed and sat there for a while, staring at her moniter blankly. When it didn't get up and dance to entertain her, she exited Firefox and signed off of AIM. The second before it disconnected, an IM popped up, then disappeared. Great timing, whoever it was. She didn't even catch the screen name. Well, if they had something important to say, they would have IMed her when she first signed off. Shutting down her computer, she went over to her bed and crawled under the covers, falling asleep immediately.

When Brendan got home, he locked the door behind him and kicked off his shoes, moving them to the side so he wouldn't trip over them in the morning like he often did. On his way to his room, he slid off his shirt and tossed it into the washing machine, his jeans following quickly. Pulling some warm sleeping pants from the dryer, he put that on before going into his room and sitting in his desk chair, shaking the mouse to wake up his computer.

Idle turned off on AIM and he noticed she was on. He had no clue why he still kept her screen name. It only made him upset to look at it. He sat there, staring at it. Maybe there was a reason he kept it on his buddy list. He doubled clicked her name and the IM box popped up, ready for him to type. His fingers were poised over his keys and he racked his brain for what he was going to say.

"Hey." "Sorry you got all wet tonight." "Hope we have fun in New York." "Think we'll win?" "Sorry your current boyfriend's an asshole who rapes you."

None of those seemed to fit.

"I'm sorry."

Perfect.

He took a few more seconds to think about what she might say, if she'd even remember his screen name. Figuring that the consequences were worth the simple fact that he was apologizing, he decided to send them. But wait, those two words didn't seem to discribe just how he felt about all of this.

"I'm very sorry."

He hit send.

"This user has signed off." was the immediate response. Figures.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: DDR Not mine. Duh.

Author's notes: Yo, I've not worked on this much and I'm sorry. I'll try to get on a regular schedule or something. I'm really proud of this story, it's the best one I believe I've written so far. So, I hope you all enjoy it as well. I've also decided that for every chapter, I'll post songs I was listening to while writing it, my favorite songs at the time, songs that might pertain. Some of the songs don't have anything to do with this fic, but I like them anyway. Also, I have a lot of typos. I'm very very sorry about that, but generally, I'm copying what I've written on paper to computer documents. I know, it sucks, but bear with it. They're not THAT bad, anyway.

Songs I've been listening to:

Sophomore Slump or Comeback of by Fall Out Boy

Dance, Dance by Fall Out Boy

Sugar, We're Going Down Swinging by Fall Out Boy

Never Gonna Come Back Down by BT

mOBSCENE by Marilyn Manson

And of course...

B.Y.O.B. by System of a Down

The theme song, per se, of this fan fic could very well be Dance, Dance by Fall Out Boy. It's pretty good, if you wanna listen, you can IM me on AIM: RetiredEmoBar, YIM: haterofmath, MSN: please please PLEASE review. I know I've been getting a lot of hits (for this being a DDR fanfic anyway) and seriously, if you read it, just let me know. I don't care if you hate it, just tell me WHY you hate it.

If you have any suggestions for this fic, anything that might make it better, review and tell me or IM me on any of those. I'm signed on all the time, unless I'm forced to shut down my computer, and just leave a message. I'll get back to ya.

OK, here's the fifth chapter of Dance, Dancing in the Moonlight.

The next day, Lily awoke to the streams of sunlight shining through her window, hitting her face and eyes. How rude. She rolled over and mashed a pillow over her face, in hopes of falling back into dreamland. Or in her case, no-dreamland. Her dreams were never good now... Slowly, she began to drift back into peaceful nothingness, her thoughts floating up and away, body relaxing, breaths deepening...

RING.

She shot up, surprised.

RING.

Who was calling her cell phone before ten AM? No one called her cell before... She looked over at the digital clock beside her bed. Twelve thirty PM. Oh.

RING.

She reached over and plucked up from the floor, where it fell out of her pocket when she took off her jeans the night before. Caller ID said it was Wayne... Did she really want to talk to him? No. Not really.

RING.

Hitting the button to make it go mute, she set it next to her digital clock and waited for him to leave a message. Or not leave a message, as he so often did. A few moments later, her cell gave a soft beep, letting her know she had a voicemail. Reluctantly, she checked it.

"Hey Lily. Tonight there's a big party at Britney's. She invited me and some others from the football team. Just wanted to let you know I'll swing by and pick you up on my way."

Not even a request, just a notice that she'd be going somewhere tonight. Typical Wayne. She deleted the message and looked back at her clock. How did she sleep in this late without realizing it? She must've been really tired from last night's competition... And going to Brendan's house... Brendan.

She'd totally forgotten about that whole thing until now. Why did she agree to go to his appartment? What an ass. Typical male. Would he be at the party? He knew Britney's brother... Nah, he probably had work. What teen with a job doesn't work Saturday nights? Exactly. And yet, she wished she had a job. Not working at her dad's shop when he needed her, a real job. A job would also give her an excuse not to go out every other night with Wayne.

She climbed out of her bed's warm comfort, shivering as the cold air hit her skin. She didn't even bother checking her e-mail or usual websites, no one mailed her and no one updated with interesting things lately. Instead, she took a long shower and avoided her parents, in fear of any questions about last night. She did let them know she won the competition and handed them the forms to fill out. They nodded, semi-congradulating her. Personally, they thought that she should be spending more time with people then playing a video game. Oh well.

Sitting in front of her computer, she waited for something to happen. No one was online worth talking to and she had already finished surfing the internet. Why were her Saturdays so fucking boring? Although she didn't want to admit it, she found her thoughts drifting to Brendan, wondering what exactly he was doing.

The phone was ringing.

Brendan groaned and rolled across his bed, plucking the portable off the charger and staring at caller ID. Thomas was calling him.

"What?" He answered.

"Gruummpy!" Came Thomas's reply. "Did I wake you?"

"..."

"Sorry. Anyway, Britney's throwing a party tonight and I'm supposed to stay here in case too many people get drunk. Well, I don't HAVE to stay, but if I want people I don't know NOT having sex in my bed, I need to stay here. I want you to come over."

"I'm pretty sure I have work tonight. In fact, I'm pretty sure YOU have work tonight." Brendan growled.

"Nah, I asked Abby and Mary to cover for us. They'd do aaaanything for yooou, Brendan. So, you have no excuse. Be here no late than 5, that's when my parent's leave and Britney breaks out the alcohol."

"Dude, I... I don't think I should. I have... Stuff to catch up on."

"Come on! No you don't, you're the worst liar ever."

"Feh, you're worse."

"Whatev, anyway, you-know-who's gonna be here with Wayne, more than likely. You can always try and get her to love you again. I do mind people I don't know having sex in my bed, but if it's people I know-"

"You're a sick fuck, Thomas." He paused, running his fingers through his hair and rubbing his sleepy eyes. Lily was going to be there... "Fine, I'll show up."

"That's more like it!"

"But not til 6."

"Heeey-!"

He hung up, pushing back the blankets on his bed. What was he thinking, going to a party where she was going to be? She told him last night she wanted to act like nothing had ever happened between them. Too much had happened between them for him to just let her be the way she wanted him to.

He groaned, lifting himself from the mattress and stretching, sighing softly. No use going back to sleep. Thomas would somehow sense that and call him back. He was good at that. He looked around his room and his eyes fell on the stack of paperwork for entrance into the New York competition. He had a couple weeks to do it, but he'd more than likely put it off until the night before and then rush through it all, forgetting critical shit. Oh well.

Brendan moved on to his bathroom, flipping on the light. Immediately, he noticed the door. And door frame. It was _slightly _messed up from where he shoved through it last night, when worried about Lily. That could be his project for the day, fixing something he broke. He needed to go to Home Depot for everything, but first he needed a shower. Stepping into the shower, he shut the door, only to watch it creak open right after.

He scratched his head. That was definitely not one of his better ideas. Oh well. Sliding his pajama pants off, he shut the door again and shoved them between the door and frame, keeping it shut that way. Not that it mattered, no one else ever came over. Except for Thomas. Then again, Thomas might be coming over to complain about him hanging up on him. He was good at that, too.

Turning back to his bathtub, he tried hard not to think about Lily in it, but was beginning to fail quickly. God, she was beautiful. Ever sense he first spotted her in the hallways, her first day, a freshman at high school. lost hopelessly. And he was a sophomore who had been in that situation. He approached her, asked her if she needed help. At first, she brushed him off, but came back a few moments later, with a sheepish expression on her face. He walked her to class and explained the layout. She had his lunch. They sat together that day and every day after. They discovered their mutual interest in video games like Halo and DDR. He invited her to his favorite arcade. The first time he saw her in a tank top... She usually wore hoodies, but removed them for the game. She caught him staring and it was awkward for a few minutes until they laughed it off.

He asked her out a few weeks later. She accepted. There were tentative kisses, hand holding and time spent just sitting next to each other playing games. He didn't realize he was in love with her until later, when she didn't show up for school, didn't call, and he found himself too worried to even eat. She had been at the hospital with her parents, her dad had had a small heart attack... He remembered hearing her voice, the relief he felt...

Brendan shook his head. The past was the past. She hated him now. Who could blame her? He hated himself for it, too.

But still, the way her eyes looked over him, making his heart flip for her, making him want to spend the rest of his life with her... The way she looked on certain _passionate_ nights...

This was going to be a long, cold shower.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's notes: Yo! I noticed on my last chapter, my MSN kinda got cut off. Sorry about that, it's That's also my e-mail address, if you don't have any of those. Again, for the fans, I'm sorry if these uploads are kinda slow. My classes right now are Algebra II, Chemistry, English III and P.E. Oh, and Driver's ed. Whee fun, correct? NO. Homework every night, more like. I never do it, but still. It's there. And, like any other 16 year old girl, I have friend drama. And a boyfriend that takes up half my time, not that I mind in the least.

Anyway, about the story: Thank you soooo much for the reviews! More are always appreciated:D And I'm still looking for good theme songs. Or even good ideas for the story, what you think would make a good part/chapter/character/plot twist. Whatev. Although, if you have one of those, I would prefer you e-mail it to me so you don't spoil anything for other readers if I use it. And if I use it, I'll give you credit for it, and you'll definitely be mentioned in one of these long, pointless things the authors put at the top of their fan fics to scare readers off. I think that's about all.

Songs I listened to while writing this chapter:

Enigma - Sadeness

Fall Out Boy - Dance, Dance

Fall Out Boy - Chicago Is So Two Years Ago

The Ataris - The Boys of Summer

Evanescence - Anything For You

Haddaway - What is Love

Chapter 6

Lily sighed, looking into the mirror on her wall. She had actually dressed up for this party, although she didn't know why. A small voice in her head told her it was because she thought Brendan would possibly be there, but she quickly killed it. She wore a black short skirt and blue v-neck top. She abandoned her favorite hoodie in favor of a long black jacket. She was having trouble deciding between heeled shoes and non-heeled shoes. She was about five feet, five inches, so she could go either way without feeling too awkward. Choosing the flat ones, she slipped them on and glanced at her clock. 5:45. The party started at 6:15, Wayne would probably be there in a few minutes.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, she rested her chin in her palm, staring at the clock on her wall, watching the seconds hand tick slowly around and around. When she was younger and couldn't sleep, she would watch the clock for hours, not even caring, thoughts like whispers floating through her head. Now she had a computer to stare at when she couldn't sleep, but no one was on and nothing interesting was happening on the internet.

There was a loud honk outside and she jumped slightly before standing up and shoving her cell phone in her jacket's pocket, rushing through the hallway and out the door. She called out a quick goodbye before shutting the door. Her parents didn't even ask where she was going anymore. As long as she was back the next morning. She was a good kid with a 'nice boyfriend.' Whatever.

Opening the door to Wayne's SUV, she climbed in and put on her seat belt. His only greeting was a squeeze of her upper thigh and she shuddered inwardly as they pulled out of the driveway. He turned up the radio and they rode in silence, Lily disliking every song that came on. She never listened to the radio anymore. Didn't listen to much of anything anymore, except for the various tunes on her computer.

"So, babe, you wanna stop by our favorite spot before we go to the party?" Wayne asked in a way she guessed was supposed to sound romantic. It didn't, only lewd and rediculous.

"Not really, Wayne. I'm kinda tired..." She lied, looking out the window at anything but him. She could feel him glaring at her, but pretended not to notice.

"Come on, just real quick..." He pulled off the small road into a forested area, many tire tracks around, making this a pretty popular 'make out' spot. Turning off the engine, he leaned over and whispered in her ear, "You might like it more this time..."

Lily suppressed a shudder, her hands beginning to shake slightly. "W-Wayne, no, please. I don't want to." He was already undoing her seatbelt, pulling her across the seat, much stronger than her and he knew it. She tried to push away, but he just held her tighter.

"C'mon, babe... I know you don't really want to resist me. How could anyone?" His hands were once again on her, all over her, making her stomach turn. She closed her eyes, willing herself to just not feel him, not feel anything. His hands were sliding under her shirt, up her skirt, turning her around.

She turned her head when he tried to kiss her, but he didn't seem to mind, instead going for her neck, biting harder than he knew was gentle. Squeezing her eyes shut, she gave up trying to push him back and just let her arms drop, willing herself not to cry. She knew she should try harder to get him off, but that would only make him angry. She'd seen what happened to the people that made him angry, and she didn't want to be there. So for now, she let him have his way, willing her thoughts somewhere else as he pushed her down.

Brendan looked around the large living room anxiously. It was 6:30. They should be here by now. Almost everyone invited was. This party was already bad, but of course would be found cool the next morning. There were three kegs alone in the living room and loud, bad music. He didn't even know why he let Thomas talk him into coming. Thomas was just hiding out in his room anyway, playing Halo. Brendan left to get a drink, but had been standing in the room for 15 minutes, waiting for her and him to walk in. He needed to get her away from him, talk to her... See her, at least.

Suddenly a few girls screamed fakely and threw themselves at the one and only Wayne, who had just walked in the door with a smug look on his face and his arm around the waist of a very unhappy looking Lily who was looking straight down. Wayne released her to give the girls his full attention and Lily sulked off, seemingly grateful. He followed her with his eyes into the kitchen. Slowly, he made his way toward there. He saw her standing in front of the fridge, looking around for something non-alcoholic and was about to approach her when a hand clopped onto his shoulder. He turned and found himself staring into the eyes of Wayne. Sort of. Wayne was tall (five eleven or so), but Brendan was six three. So, he was more staring down into the eyes than just into.

"What's up, man? Haven't seen you since English III!" He said, grabbing Brendan's hand in a semi-shake. Brendan clenched his other fist, willing it not to slam into his face.

"Uh, yeah." Brendan replied in a monotone voice, thoughts of what exactly he had done to Lily running through his head. Wayne started in about football and how he was getting into some college on it. He nodded like he cared, the whole time just imagining how it would feel to break his nose and various other bones in his body. After a couple minutes, some girls approached, cooing at him to come with them so they could show him something 'really good.' They disappeared into the crowd and Brendan turned back to the kitchen where Lily was, but she had vanished.

Weaving through the crowd, he spotted her sitting on the couch, staring down at her can of coke, her hair over her eyes. Her whole body seemed to be shaking somewhat, as if she was crying... Quickly, he approached and kneeled in front of her, resting his hand on her shoulder, looking up at her face under her hair. She jerked up and he saw in her eyes a mixture of fear and something else... Her cheeks were wet with tears and she quickly wiped them away with her sleeve.

"What?" She growled, glaring strongly at him.

"What's wrong, Lily? Why are you even here?" He asked, moving to sit next to her on the couch.

"Nothing's wrong." She said immediately, pushing her hair behind her ears and looking at him. "Why are _you_ even here?"

"Thomas invited me." Brendan shrugged, wondering just how Thomas was doing without him at the moment. He kinda left him in a nasty Halo predicament.

"Ah, I see..." Lily looked back down at her lap and they sat in silence for a few moments.

"Lily... Last night... What you said about why you stay with Wayne..."

Her hands gripped her skirt tightly and she turned her head even further away. "Anything said last night... We just need to forget about it. I was tired, I wasn't thinking. Also, I probably was suffering effects of the cold."

"Even about what Wayne did to you?" Brendan moved closer to her, lowering his voice.

Does to me, Lily corrected bitterly in her mind. She bit her lip before quickly replying, "Even that. I don't know why I said that..." Her cheeks were burning and her voice wasn't steady. She was the world's worse liar and he knew it.

"Lily... I want the truth." He said firmly, placing his hand on her shoulder. She jumped a bit at his touch and her face flushed a darker red and she pulled back, but he kept her there. "Please."

"Hey! Brendan! C'mon, I'm done with co-op if you wanna kill each other senselessly on split. Caleb brought his box, so we can have half screens." Thomas called, suddenly pushing through the crowd in front of them. Brendan pulled his hand back and nodded at Thomas quickly.

"Sure." He said, standing up and beginning toward Thomas's room.

"Lily! Wow, haven't seen you in forever. Didn't know you would be here."

Thomas was a fantastic actor/liar and Brendan knew he knew it. He watched as Thomas feigned surprise and reached down to shake her hand, like a proper boy.

"I know you play some Halo, c'mon and shoot some dudes with us." He said, grinning as Lily half smiled. Oh, how she loved shooting dudes. Quickly her smile faded though.

"I would, Thomas, but I can't. I'm here with Wayne, and I'm afraid he wouldn't..." All three looked to see Wayne disappearing into Britney's room with Britney and another blonde girl with large breasts and a very short skirt. She fell quiet quickly. Thomas turned back to her, shrugging a bit.

"I don't think he'll mind." He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. Although Thomas meant nothing by it, a twinge of jealousy shot through him. Lily nodded and they both followed him back to Thomas's room.

Caleb, one of Thomas's good friends from his hometown and Brendan's acquaintance, was already sitting with a game set up, waiting patiently for them all to pick up controllers. Lily and Brendan went on Thomas's box and Thomas joined Caleb on his. Lily made a quick profile and changed the color to black, to help her hide in the shadows, and they were off killing each other.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Notes: I'm so grateful to the two of ya'll that actually took the time out of your busy schedules/lives to IM me and/or e-mail me! Makes me feel really good. :D And that my work is appreciated, yay! Sorry I'm kinda lacking in the updates department, kinda hectic schedule around here, but I'll write when I can, promise. Um, not much to say except for I really don't know where I'm going. I know what I want to do, how I want it to end, but I don't know exactly how to get there yet, so bare with me if chapters take a while, because I really want everything to flow. Anyway, I won't bore you with much else except for...

Songs I listened to while writing this chapter:

Grand Theft Autumn (remix) - Fall Out Boy

Love At First Sight - Kylie Minogue

In Keeping Secrets of the Silent Earth:3 - Coheed and Cambria

Beautiful Night - Burden Brothers

The Boys of Summer - The Ataris

B.Y.O.B. - System of a Down

Movies - Alien Ant Farm

Again, I'm sorry for the delay, everything happened at once and on top of that, there were homework and essays to write. I hate being a student. Send me money and I can work on this thing full-time:D

I didn't really like this chapter as much as the others, but I'd appreciate it if you told me what you think of it! Thanks!

That's about all. And here we go, chapter 7!

Chapter 7

After a few hours of playful killing, everyone was tied in wins and the final game started out at Blood Gulch, pretty much every Halo player's favorite for the first one. The combat was quiet at first, but the moment Thomas got shots at Brendan, shouts and curses were being yelled and it was an all out battle. They quickly teamed up, Caleb with Thomas and Lily with Brendan, unspoken truces between them. Soon Lily and Brendan had the lead and Lily grabbed a sniper rifle, heading to her favorite spot to camp (a legitimate strategy). After a few good kills, Brendan snuck up behind her and was, in fact, a team killing fucktard. Or so Lily screamed as he pistol-whipped her in the back, shoving her controller down on the floor and shoving him, hard.

He only laughed at her, making her even more mad and she set her controller down to shove him once again, with both hands. He tipped a bit and she shoved once more, knocking him over. But as she did, he grabbed her hands and pulled her along with him and she soon found herself sprawled out over him, even more angry. Caleb and Thomas were laughing, taking the opportunity to spawn kill their forgotten Halo selves.

Lily growled and started pounding away at him, a flush creeping up her cheeks as she basically lay across him, his hands on her sides, keeping her there. Suddenly, the door was thrown open and an all too familiar called out.

"Hey, Caleb? Or Thomas, whatever, either of you guys got a spare? I used my last before the party and like... Yeah, do you guys got one? Or two?"

It took Lily a second to register just what he was asking for. Once it did, she opened her mouth to say something in anger, but Brendan covered it with his hand, motioning to the somewhat suggestive state they were in and how he sounded somewhat drunk. Already. She sighed and turned her away, in case he looked down. The room was dark, except for the glow of the televisions, but if he looked hard enough, he could probably make out their faces. Maybe not, with the impairment of alcohol, but Lily didn't want to find out. Wayne was never happy when he was drunk. Unless he was 'getting some'.

"Oh, yeah. I got one..." Caleb was digging through his wallet and pulled out a small, thin square object and tossing it to Wayne. Thomas huffed, commenting loudly.

"You only have one because you never get laid, dude."

"Oh, whatever, this coming from the guy who will only settle for girls as pretty as celebrities. No wonder you're still a virgin." Caleb quickly retorted, returning back to their game.

The door closed behind Wayne and Lily quickly pulled herself off of Brendan, running her fingers through her hair. Right then, his words ran through her head again. '...used my last before the party...'

She froze and looked quickly over at Brendan, wondering if he had heard it. The look in his eyes gave it away. He knew. He knew exactly what Wayne was talking about and now why Lily had been so uncomfortable by him when they walked in. Why she refused to look at him... He knew.

He opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off, muttering about a drink and leaving the room, letting the door slam behind her. She could barely hear it over the loud, bad music and she quickly slipped into the crowd, hearing the door open up behind her. She was glad when he couldn't locate her and instead called out her name. She pushed herself even more into the throbbing crowd, trying to lose him in it all, hoping he wasn't following.

Finally she got to the other side of the crowd, shoving her way out and between two couples in a somewhat passionate embrace. There was a cry of disgust from the girl, but the guy seemed too stoned or drunk to notice. Maybe both. She stumbled into the kitchen and saw that it now held 5 kegs. And no soda, she found out after checking the fridge. Some guy was setting up cups of lukewarm beer and placing them neatly on the counter. They would be knocked over quickly, she knew it.

'What the hell not...' Lily thought, picking one up for herself. The guy looked over at her as she drained the whole thing, twisting her nose at the unpleasant taste. Why did anyone drink this stuff? It was disgusting... The guy had already refilled her cup and was giving her a thumbs up. She just rolled her eyes at him and stalked off, managing to get to the backyard without spilling too much of the drink onto herself. The moon rising slowly and she stared up at it, tears suddenly filling her eyes.

When did everything get so complicated?

Brendan cried out in frustration, scanning the crowd once more for Lily. He couldn't find her anywhere. He'd shoved his way through the massive and densely packed crowd and hadn't spotted her.

Noticing the stairs were relatively empty, Brendan pushed his way through the crowd toward them, managing to get there without much resistance. Moving to the top, he looked over the people closely. Still no sign of Lily. Suddenly, he spotted, well, her head leaving the kitchen and getting out the to back door. She was holding something, but he couldn't tell what.

Turning back, he headed down the stairs and shoved his way back through the throng of tightly packed people. It took a few minutes, but he finally pushed his way to the back door, getting outside and shutting it behind him. The house itself seemed to be pulsing with every beat of the way too-loud music playing inside.

The backyard was large with various trees scattered about and it was mostly empty, save a few very 'in love' couples. Either that or drunk.

He walked around quickly, looking for Lily. Brendan spotted her huddled next to a tree, her head down near her knees. Rushing over, he crouched next to her, shaking her shoulders gently.

"Lily?" He asked quietly, reaching out and lifting her head. Her eyes were closed, tear streaks on her cheeks. "It's freezing out here... I have to get you inside before you get sick."

"Don't wanna go inside... He's in there... Don't let him touch me... You were always so protective..." Lily's eyes opened slowly, as if drowsy. Or...

"Lily, are you drunk?" Brendan frowned, smelling the beer on her breath and noticing the empty cup beside her. Very large and empty cup.

"I only had a little..." She giggled, watching him pick it up. "Like, two of those..."

"My God, Lily... You're smashed." He slid an arm around her as she giggled again at the word 'smashed'. He eased her up slowly, letting her lean mostly against him.

"I wanna go home... So tired..." She said softly, laying her head on his shoulder. He supported her waist and they began walking slowly toward the gate.

"Lils, I can't take you home, you're drunk. Your parents would definitely notice something like that. I'll have to take you to my place again first. I'll take you home in the morning..." Brendan said quietly as they passed a couple emitted very strange noises, mostly hidden in shadows. Lily laughed at them and he just pulled her closer.

Stopping at Thomas's window, he knocked on it a few times, hearing a shout. Thomas's face appeared, looking surprised. "What?" He asked loudly enough for them to hear through the glass.

"I'm taking Lily home, I'll see you tomorrow, man." He called back before continuing to the gate. He opened it slowly, guiding Lily through before closing it behind him and pausing to search for his truck. It was parked at the very end of the street, like he usually did for parties. Well, the few he attended, anyway.

"Why are you taking me? You should've just left me outside. Maybe I would've died." Lily stated quietly, sounding as serious as she could, given her condition.

"Because that would make many people sad. And Wayne would have to find another chick to paw at." Brendan replied. They'd both forgotten their jackets and it was currently dropping to at least the low 40's. Smart Brendan. He pulled Lily even closer to him, hoping to keep her somewhat warm.

"Wayne doesn't care about me. If he did, he wouldn't hurt me like he does..." She sighed, accepting his body heat and pressing closer against his side.

"What does he do to you, Lily?" Maybe if she was drunk, she would answer.

"He just... Makes me do stuff... Like tonight, before the party... He pulled over into that spot and just started touching me... Hurting me..." Her voice got distant and he looked over to see her eyes closed, a tear dropping down her cheek. He stopped and slid his hand under her chin, making her look up at him.

"Lily, you have to leave him. Do you understand? Anything he does to you for leaving can't be as bad as what he'll do if you stay with him... I highly doubt you'll remember this in the morning, but please, just... Leave him or something..."

Her eyes gazed up at him and he had to look away. She was too beautiful to look at as something as broken as she was. He was the one who'd broken her in the first place... She probably just wanted Wayne to make her move on past him. He'd never be able to move on past her...

"Brendan... Will you kiss me again? Make me feel like you did when we were still together... When I was still happy..." She was looking at him seriously, and he had to remind himself that she'd had two very large cups of beer and probably wouldn't remember anything the next morning. Hell, she'd hate him even more the next morning, waking up in his house.

"I can't, Lils... It's not right..." He pulled her back up against his side, continuing to walk again. She fell into step quickly and stared down at the ground.

"You're too good for me, Brendan... That's why you left... I didn't deserve you..."

Oh, how quite the opposite it was.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Notes: Woot, chapter 8 already, eh? And they still haven't even gotten to the tournament. Oh, when will this little fanfiction move on? Anyway, I got a couple comments on how two beers wouldn't be enough for Lily to get smashed on. Let's just pretend it is, k? I write fanfiction, not novels. There's a reason for that. Anyway, I like this fic a lot, let's hope I don't abandon it, yes?

I now have a (semi-secret) agent to keep me on track for this story. Her name is Lea.

Music I was listening to while writing this chapter:

Alien Ant Farm - Movies

Frou Frou - Must Be Dreaming

Frou Frou - Let Go

Fall Out Boy - Grand Theft Autumn (remix)

Enigma - Sadness

New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle

We 3 Katamari songs, woot.

And a few others but eh, you guys don't care. On with the fanfiction!

Disclaimers: Obviously I don't own DDR. There's also a few lines from Red vs Blue that I took. I am a theif. Or a pirate.

Chapter 8

The ride to his apartment was relatively short, but it seemed to take forever with Lily's head on his shoulder, dozing off every now and then, only to jerk awake whenever they hit a bump or he made a turn. With her this close to him, it reminded him of the past...

"Why do you think we were chosen for this tournament?" She asked, without moving beside him.

"Well, because we're the best, or at least the best in our school." He replied, shrugging somewhat.

"No... I mean like, do you think there was more of a reason? We hate each other and all... Think it was some... plan to get us to like each other again?"

"Two things wrong with that theory. One, I've never ever hated you. Ever. Two, the school doesn't care enough about its students to plot some elaborate scheme like this." They pulled into his apartment's parking spot and he turned off the car but continued sitting there, waiting for her to move, but almost hoping she wouldn't.

Slowly, she sat up and opened the door. He got out quickly and went around to help her down and up the stairs. Unlocking the door, he opened it and brought her inside, letting it close behind him

"I'm gonna let you sleep on the couch. It's pretty comfortable, so don't worry about it. I also don't think you'd like to wake up tomorrow morning in my bed. I'll take you home whenever you want tomorrow. Most likely immediately." He led her to the couch, sitting her down. Going into his room, he grabbed a fleece blanket and one of his pillows, bringing them back into the living room. He set up the pillow for her and watched her almost fall onto it, her eyes closing immediately.

Leaning over, he removed her shoes for her and threw the blanket over her body, making sure to cover her completely, he remembered how cold her feet got without anything on them. Turning back to her face, he smiled softly as she snuggled into the pillow, taking a deep breath and sighing contently. He reached out and brushed a stray piece of hair away from her eyes.

Suddenly they fluttered open and she stared at him. He inhaled quickly... He'd forgotten how beautiful her eyes were.

"I've never hated you, either, Brendan..." She murmured before they closed again and she drifted back into a deep sleep. Brendan half smiled and traced a finger along the side of her cheek.

"I know..." He stood up and tore his eyes away from the sleeping angel, moving quietly into his room. Shedding his shirt and pants, he slipped into '' leet pajamas he'd bought online a few years ago, awaking his computer and checking e-mail and a few webcomics for updates before stretching and turning off his monitor. Crawling under his comforter, he rested his head on a pillow and closed his eyes, willing his brain to think about anything other than the beautiful girl sleeping just outside his room.

It wasn't working.

3:04 A.M. That's what the clock read several hours later. He still wasn't asleep. He swore he could hear every breath, sigh, sleepy murmur that escaped her lips out there. The lips that she wanted him to kiss again. Oh, what he wouldn't give to taste her just one more time... But of course, that one more time would only leave him wanting one more time and one more time. What a vicious cycle this all was.

Suddenly, he heard his door creak open. He froze, listening to footsteps as they came in. His door shut then they continued to the other side of the bed and he shut his eyes most of the way, but left them open enough to where he could see her sliding into the bed next to him, but turning away and curling up under the blankets, shivering slightly.

She must've been really cold to want to come in here in his bed. Or really cold and still drunk. Either way. He watched her back as she slowly began to stop shivering as her body heat made the rest of the bed warm, her blanket pulled all the way up and almost covering her face. She sighed softly and nuzzled her pillow, obviously feeling much better. Brendan paid close attention to her breathing and after several minutes, it returned to its deep and slow state, letting him know she was asleep. Tentatively, he reached out and touched her hair, which lay spread across the pillow. Curling a lock around his finger, he smiled softly and let go, drawing his arm back next to him. He'd nearly forgotten what it was like to watch her sleep next to him. Before, they'd been a lot closer, though.

At 3:58 A.M., Lily rolled over in her sleep, hands stretching out across the space between them, grasping the sheet a bit. He reached out once more to touch her hand and immediately her fingers grasped his, a soft smile tracing over her lips before disappearing into her dreams. Fearing he might wake her up, he pulled his hand back, content with just watching her sleep. The moment his hand drew back from hers, she frowned, pushing her head slightly into the pillow.

"No... Wayne..." She whimpered quietly, her fingers gripping the sheets between them. "Stop, it hurts..."

She was dreaming about what Wayne had done to her. And it was all his fault. If he hadn't have left her for a stupid reason without any proof behind it, she wouldn't have lost her self-esteem and wouldn't have dated Wayne in the first place, much less let him get away with what he did.

His heart nearly broke as a tear slipped down her cheek and her hand gripped the sheets, her eyes squeezing shut even more. Lily's legs began thrashing under the blanket and whithout even thinking about it, he reached out and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her up close to him. At first she cried out, trying to pull away from him.

"It's ok... It's just me..." He whispered, his hand entangling in her hair as he held her close, resting his forehead against hers. Her eyes flew open at the sound of her voice, tears running down her cheeks. Wiping them away with one hand, his other stroked his hair as her breathing calmed slowly, her hands resting upon his bare chest. "I'm so sorry, Lily... If I hadn't have been so stupid, you wouldn't have been hurt like this... It's all my fault..."

"No... It's mine... If I hadn't been such a bad girlfriend to you, you wouldn't have left me... I really did love you and I'm sorry for doing whatever I did to make you believe I'd be unfaithful to you..." She whispered, her eyes closing as another tear slipped out, her hands clenching somewhat.

"You were never a bad girlfriend... I was just an idiot for believing anyone other than you. Believing anything other than the truth." He hand covered hers, fingers entwining with each other. "I would have done anything to get you back, Lily... Anything. But by the time I found you, it was too late."

"I just couldn't look at you anymore. In the hallways, in lunch... I just planned my routes to completely avoid you, to make it easier to forget you. But it didn't matter, because the routes I took to never see you, only reminded me of you even more." She closed her eyes, moving closer to him and nuzzling the side of his neck, inhaling his scent, remember nights long ago when they lay together just like this, not even speaking, just enjoying each other's warmth.

And now, as he held her close, listening to her soft breathing as it deepened and she drifted into a peaceful slumber, he wished this moment would never end; that all the things keeping them from each other could just disappear and they could stay this way forever.

But his wishes had never come true.


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Notes: Sorry this took so long to be put up. There were finals, reviews for finals, donuts... You know, the works. And many many more things that make my life interesting. So here you go!

I don't own DDR. I do own all of the characters and the idea for this fanfiction. Amazingly, my favorite character right now is Thomas. Review and tell me what YOUR favorite character is! Please!

Chapter 9

Lily awoke slowly, opening her eyes and shielding them from the assaulting sunlight that streamed in through curtains. Curtains that were not her own... She bolted upright, almost immediately regretting her actions as a wave of dizziness washed over her. She steadied herself and looked around her. She was in Brendan's room. In Brendan's bed.

The events of the night before swam back into her mind and she groaned. Everything was a little fuzzy, but she remembered most of it. Him walking her to his car, taking her to his apartment, tucking her in on the couch... How did she wind up here? Running her hand through her hair, she threw the covers off of herself and stood up, stretching. Brendan was in for it.

Looking down at her clothes, she noticed the wrinkles all over and frowned. Sleeping in her clothes wasn't something she should have done. Especially in these. Figuring she might as well steal some of his, she walked over to his dresser and drew open the second drawer, well aware of what the first would contain. Shifting through his clothes, she found a long sleeved shirt that she liked, slipping out of her skirt and pulling off her top as well, quickly putting on his. Pulling open the drawer underneath the one she stole the shirt from, she found a few pairs of jeans, none of which would fit her.

Sighing, she fixed the shirt so that it covered her like a dress, albeit a very short one, picking her clothes up from the floor and opening his bedroom door, sticking her head out. Peeking down the hallway, she didn't see him and walked out, holding her clothes to her chest.

"Brendan?" Lily approached the kitchen, staring over the counter. Suddenly he popped up, holding a pan. He froze immediately and she blushed as he looked her over. He hadn't bothered getting dressed yet and wasn't wearing a shirt, not that she did mind. He looked good without a shirt on. Looking away, she held out her clothes. "I need you to iron these."

"K, want me to do that before or after I make breakfast?" Brendan took them from her, motioning to the eggs, bacon and sausage links that were set out on the counter.

"I'll make breakfast if you iron." Lily offered, shrugging. "Get more things done."

"Alright, uh... Everything you need's right here and I assume you know how to work a stove top." He watched her walk around and take the pan from him, nodding.

"Thank you. I'll try not to burn it too badly." She grinned, winking at him and then immediately blushing. He smiled at her before leaving the kitchen and dropping her clothes on the couch, grabbing his ironing board from his laundry closet type thing along with his iron. He set it up as Liily mixed up the eggs, remembering that Brendan liked them scrambled.

Brendan on the other hand tried to appear busy, stealing glances at her as often as possible. Who could blame him? She was wearing one of his shirts, which looked far better on her than it did him, especially when it was paired with no pants. He caught her looking at him a few times, she had blushed and looked away each time their eyes met. He smiled warmly when he saw she was making scrambled eggs. She remembered.

The phone rang and Brendan set down the iron properly, heading over to his cordless and picking up.

"Hello?"

"Hey dude! Where'd you go last night? Why'd Lily look so uh..."

Holding up his finger to Lily, he went into his room, making sure she couldn't hear.

"Hey Thomas, yeah... Lily got a little smashed last night. I had to take her home."

"K, wanna come over or go to IHOP for breakfast? Wanna tell you about this chick I met last night. Dude, she's hot AND knows who Master Chief is.."

"I can't, Lily's cooking breakfast right now and I can't take her home til I'm done ironing her clothes and I can get my shirt back from her."

"...What? Why's Lily cooking breakfast? Why are you ironing? Why's she in your shirt? ...DID YOU GUYS DO IT? AGAIN? I swear to God, Brendan..."

"NO! She slept in her clothes, they're wrinkled, she's wearing one of my shirts until I'm done ironing them and while I'm ironing them, she's cooking breakfast because we're hungry. That's what happens in the morning. Are you hungry, Thomas? I bet you are. Did you get laid last night, Thomas? I bet you didn't. So."

"Hey, shut the hell up, man. I could've."

"And you didn't because...?"

"...I didn't want to. She was uh... Not hot."

"Sure. Anyway, we gotta stop by later because we left our jackets, then I can take her home. Are you coming to New York with us for the tournament?"

"Oh, I see how it is, you dump me and Caleb here all by ourselves so you can take your drunk ex girlfriend to your house and 'not have sex' with her, but then when you realize your precious little coats are here, you call me up whining and complaining about being so cold and alone."

"Dude, you called me. What the hell is your problem?"

He heard mumbling on the phone, Caleb's voice, then Thomas's replying, "I'm not gonna tell him about that! He'll make fun of me!" Then fuzzy sounds as the phone was being pulled back and forth, finally Caleb's smiling voice was there.

"Ok, so last night, Thomas is losing at Halo and he chunks his controller at the wall, being the dumbass that he is and forgetting about gravity. The controller bounces off the wall and hits him in the face. His eye's all messed up and to make him feel better, I gave him a pirate eye patch, which he liked, but is still being a little whiny bitch from the pain." Caleb reported, laughing while Thomas obviously tried to get the phone back.

Just then, Lily's head popped inside, "Food's ready, when you're done on that."

Brendan nodded to her and watched her disappear again then spoke, "Caleb, gotta go eat and finish with clothes. I'll be over with Lily in an hour or so, ok?"

"Alright, see you then."

He hung up and put the phone back on the charger, running his hand through his hair and walking back into the living room. Lily sat on the smaller couch, plate in her lap, eating a piece of bacon. His plate sat on the counter, with a little syrup on the side, just like he liked it. She remembered everything. He wondered if she remembered what had happened the night before, in his bed. She'd been so warm, so perfect, up against him again...

Brendan sat on the larger couch and several moments passed in silence as they ate. Lily finished first and brought the plate back into the kitchen, putting it into the sink and rinsing it off with water.

"Want me to finish ironing while you eat?" Lily inquired, coming back into the living room and motioning to the ironing board with the still hot iron on top. Brendan nodded and she went over to it, starting back on it. More silence ensued, Lily not really noticing as she worked on her clothes.

"I'm surprised you haven't killed me this morning for not taking your back to your house last night." Brendan said as he finished his plate.

"I contemplated it, but my head hurts too much." She shrugged, smiling at him playfully.

"Want some Advil or something?" He moved into the kitchen, putting his plate and fork in the sink and opening a cabinet, looking for his medicine.

"Um, sure. If you really want me to feel good enough to kill you." She set the iron down, following him back into the kitchen.

"Well, it wouldn't be the same without you threatening me or yelling at me every 6 seconds." Brendan grinned, pulling down a bottle and handing it to her before getting a glass and pouring some water into it. He traded the glass for the now opened bottle of Advil and put that away as she took them, drinking first before putting the pills in her mouth, as she always did.

"So, when are you taking me home?" Lily asked as she set the glass down and returned to the ironing board, nearly done with the skirt, the shirt already finished.

"Uh, well... We have to drop by Thomas's first to grab our jackets, we kinda left them there, and then I'll take you home, I guess." He shrugged, pouring the cup out and setting it in the sink.

"Ok, um... I have to take a shower first, so is it ok if I do that after or before you or what?" She asked, finishing the skirt and setting it aside before unplugging the iron.

"Well, my door's kinda not good... The lock's a little broken, so you'll have to prop something by it or whatever. You can take one first, I guess. I'll do the dishes then pick up a bit around here." He replied, resting his hands on the counter.

Lily nodded, picking up her now folded clothing, "I'll go take a shower, then. Try not to peek, please. I'll kill you."

"Hey, I'm sure. Just let me know, will you come and kill me right then, while you're naked, or wait until you're dressed to do so?" Brendan grinned at her, looking her up and down.

She glared at him, huffing and hurrying down the hallway, trying to slam the bathroom door behind her. Since it was broken, it just bounced back open, making her cry out in frustration. He laughed before leaning over the counter and looking down the hallway to see her pushing the door shut over and over again, then it didn't open. She must've jammed it with her shirt or something. He shrugged and went into the living room, folding up the ironing board and putting it away along with the iron. He heard the shower come on and headed into the kitchen to do the dishes.

A few minutes later he had finished and he went into his room, picking out a shirt and jeans to wear along with boxers, setting them next to his computer before sitting down at it, shaking the mouse to wake it up. There was no e-mail for him and no one of interest was currently online, so he put his computer back into sleep mode and stood up, stretching. Going into the living room, he plopped onto a couch and sighed softly, closing his eyes. A few minutes later, he heard the water in his bathroom turn off and then Lily leave, hurrying down the hallway into his room, closing the door behind her. Sitting up, he made his way down the hallway into the bathroom, closing the door behind him and jamming it shut with his shirt after removing it.

Standing near the shower, he looked over the waterdrops on the walls and sighed to himself, turning the water to cold. What that girl did to him, just by taking a shower in his bathroom... He'd just have to get used to very cool showers from now on.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Notes: Wow, chapter 10 already, eh? Even though I'm pretty lacking in the readers area, but I have a couple that keep me writing. Thanks. I'm forever in your debt.

Music I listened to while writing this chapter:

Listen To Your Heart - DHT

White Houses - Vanessa Carlton

Starry Eyed Surprise - Paul Oakenfold

The entire Advent Children OST

Voulez-vous Danser - Ace of Bass

Duvet - BoA

Love You Down - INOJ

I do believe that's about all. Enough stalling, time to write this sucker.

Chapter 10

Brendan stepped out of the shower feeling much more refreshed, most thoughts of Lily pushed back or scared away by the cold water. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist, securing it tightly and sighing softly, looking into the mirror. He had slight bags under his eyes from his recent lack of sleep, but he'd be able to catch up on that soon enough. After he didn't have a certain someone in his house.

Quickly, he ran a comb through his hair and set it down, turning to the door. Pulling out the shirt that was keeping it closed, he let the door drift open and was surprised to find Lily standing in front of him. Her eyes widened a bit when they fell upon his bare chest, following up over it slowly before meeting his gaze. She blushed when she realized she had been staring and he'd caught her doing so, looking away quickly.

"I need a brush or something. For my hair." She muttered, holding out her open hand. Brendan smiled softly and reached over for it, dropping it in her outstretched palm. Giving a slid nod, she turned on her heel and walked down the hall, into the living room. He turned off the bathroom light and slipped into his room, shutting the door behind him.

Drying off, he slipped into his clothes quickly, shaking his head a bit to dry his hair a little faster, or at least get any excess water out. After putting on socks, he moved into the living room, finding Lily sitting on his couch, still combing her hair.

"Sorry I don't have an actual brush. I know how much you hate combs," He sat down across from her, pulling on his shoes.

"I don't hate combs, I just have too much hair for one," She sighed, giving up and setting the comb down on his coffee table. She'd gotten most of her hair done. "Are we going to Thomas's now?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess so. Are you ready?" Brendan stood up, looking around for his car keys. He spotted them on his counter and nodded, looking back to Lily.

"Um... Where are my shoes?" She asked tentatively, looking down on the floor. "I kinda remember you taking them off before I fell asleep..."

"Ah. I think they're around here..." He dropped down, glancing under the couch. "Here ya go." He pulled them out, handing them over to her. She obliged, taking them out of his hands and putting them on her feet quickly. Standing up next to him, she nodded to him and went to wait by the door as he grabbed his keys and turned off the lights in his apartment.

Opening the door, she stepped out first, followed by him and he locked the door. Lily shivered as the cool air hit her exposed skin, forgetting why exactly she'd brought a jacket to the party. These clothes weren't exactly for comfort. Thomas didn't seem to mind and she didn't like him for it.

They headed down to his truck and he unlocked it, even opened the door for her before going over to his own. She climbed into his car and put on her seat belt, wrapping her arms around each other, trying to get a little warmer. Brendan started the car and immediately turned the heat on for her, even though it wasn't warm yet. Looking out the window, Lily thought about what she'd do when she got home. Most likely change into warm pajamas and crawl into her nice, warm bed... Without him there. Making it warmer.

And suddenly she remembered. She remembered the night before completely. She hadn't even thought about what had happened before then. She remembered drinking... Too much. Everything got blurry. Then Brendan was there, he took her to his car. They were going to his car, talking. She asked him to kiss her again, make her feel loved. He'd said no...

He took her to his apartment, set her up on the couch, covered her up with a blanket, removed her shoes... But later, she woke up freezing, so cold she couldn't stand it. Especially after dreaming about Wayne... She crawled into his bed, fell asleep there.

She woke up in his arms. He was holding her and she didn't feel queasy or anything... She only felt nice, being held by him. She wasn't afraid that he was going to hurt her. He was just warm. Warm and comfortable.

Lily stared out the window. How could that have all happened and she not have remembered until now? After the way she acted... How did he feel about last night? She glanced over at him. He was staring ahead, concentrating on the road.

She looked away quickly before he could catch her staring again. Lily didn't understand what she was feeling. She should be mad at him for making her come back to his apartment, drunk or not. She should be mad at him for being as close as he was the night before, her own bad dreams or not.

But she wasn't. Instad, she just felt a dull ache in her chest. The way her treated her, caring for her, helping her, not at all like the way Wayne was with her. He only stared lewdly and did whatever he pleased, to her or anyone else. With Brendan, it was like he still cared...

But he didn't. If he had ever cared, he wouldn't have broken up with her for such a dumb reason. He was just being a nice ex-boyfriend. She glanced back to him, wondering why. This time he turned and caught her looking. He just smiled and she found herself blushing. She was doing that waaay too much around him.

"We're here." Hee said, turning off the engine and undoing his seat belt. He even reached across and unhooked hers before sliding out. Lily nodded and and got out of the truck, following him up to the door. She looked around the neighborhood, amazed by just how many cars there had been the night before and just how much better the street looked without them.

Brendan knocked on the door, waiting intently. Lily shivered, wrapping her arms around herself again and moved a bit closer to him, her arm brushing against his sleeve. There was a crash inside, followed by a loud obscenity. Caleb opened the door, smiling at them both and letting them inside.

"Hey, come on in. Thomas was gonna get the door, but he tripped over the coffee table in his living room because he doesn't watch where he's going and he's down half his sight. Sort of." Caleb grinned, guiding them to Thomas, who was furiously picking up things off the floor he'd undoubtably knocked off. He did in fact have a patch over one eye, like Caleb had said.

"Hey, pirate. Having fun?" Brendan grinned, walking over and giving him a light slap on the back. The 'guy hug' as Lily liked to call it. Thomas just glared at him as best he could while Brendan tried not to laugh.

"Think it's funny? Xbox controllers are fucking bitches..." Thomas muttered, stalking over to the couch and taking a seat. Brendan sat on the other couch and patted the spot next to him. Lily sat there, looking around the house. She hadn't really payed attention to it the night before, but it was very nice, decorated with lots of pretty things that must've cost quite a bit to attain.

"Your house is very nice." Lily commented softly, focusing on a particular painting on the wall that insterested her. It depicted a field full of beautiful flowers, all different colors.

"Yeah, Thomas is rich." Brendan shrugged.

"I am not! We're middle class." Thomas huffed, turning away.

"Whatever, 'middle class' can't afford to buy two PSPs "in case the other one runs out of battery and I'm not near a charger."" Brendan mocked, using air quotes.

Lily stared at him, then Thomas, "Why didn't you just buy a second battery?"

"They didn't have one." Thomas muttered.

"So you bought a SECOND PSP?" Lily laughed.

Thomas glared as best he could with one eye, which wasn't very well, "Get your coats."

Brendan shrugged and stood up, heading to the spare room where all the jackets had been tossed the night before. Lily sat alone in the living room with Thomas. Caleb was making lunch.

"Are you and he back together now?" Thomas asked in a bored tone.

"Oh... No. He's just... Helping me out." Lily said quietly, looking down at her hands in her lap.

"Yeah, sure. It's okay, about time Brendan got you back. He was becoming cranky from never getting any. Even when he got flirted with at the mall, he never did anything in return. Guess he really missed you. No idea why they'd hit on him, I mean, really, when they've got ME in comparison. No offense, Lils, but I don't see TOO much competition."

Lily looked up, shocked, "Brendan didn't date anyone else?"

"Tch, no. He didn't even flirt. s'what I just said." Thomas replied.

Just then, Brendan came back in, holding both of their jackets. He tossed hers to Lily and she caught it, standing up and putting it on.

"Well, Tommy boy. We better go so you can be a whiny bitch about your eye in peace and Caleb can make fun of you while playin the nurse game and making you food because you're pathetic." Brendan grinned, patting Thomas on the head.

"I wish, Caleb has to leave in like, an hour. Has to go back home to his college, which apparently doesn't believe in a two week Christmas break." Thomas said bitterly, swatting Brendan's hand away. "He's making food to take on the plane since he hates the crap they serve."

Caleb's head appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, "Sorry we didn't get to hang out some more, Brendan. Thomas makes fun of you a lot. My college decided that having New Year's off encouraged underage drinking." Caleb rolled his eyes and reached out a hand to shake Brendan's. "It was nice meeting you too, miss." He offered his hand to Lily, who took it and nodded, smiling softly.

Another twinge of jealousy shot up Brendan's spine. He placed his hand on Lily's shoulder, "See you later, Caleb."

Caleb released her hand and smiled before disappearing back into the kitchen. He waved goodbye to Thomas before exiting the house, Lily following behind. They got into his truck and Brendan began driving to Lily's.

She pulled out her cell phone from her jacket pocket, wondering if her mom or dad had called. Flipping it open, she found she had 12 missed calls. One from her house and 11 from Wayne's cell phone. Only one voicemail, though. She listened.

"Hello Lily," It was her mother, "I hope you're having fun at your party or wherever. When you get home, don't freaked out because no one's there. Your aunt called and your father and I are going to visit her for a baby shower. Apparently she's pregnant again... Anyway, we'll be gone for a little while. Until Friday or so. You can stay with a friend or home by yourself, and if you need me, call my cell phone or your father's. Bye bye, sweetie."

Lily erased the message and sighed, putting her phone back in her pocket.

"Who called?" Brendan asked, looking over at her.

"My mom. She and my dad are gonna be gone until Friday. Another baby shower for my aunt." She shrugged, looking out the window.

"You gonna be okay by yourself for 6 days?"

"I'll be fine, it's not my first time to be in a house alone."

Suddenly he reached over, placing his hand over hers. She jumped a bit and looked over at him. He was still concentrating on the road, but glancing over at her often. "Lily, if you need anything, I want you to call me. If anything happenes, if you hear anything in the middle of the night, don't investigate it. Just call me. I'd much rather come over there at 2 in the morning and find nothing than you go out in your pajamas and get hurt."

"I'll be fine-"

"Promise me. Promise me you'll call if something happens."

"Ok, ok, I promise. If it'll make you shut up." She smiled and he smiled back softly. Removing his hand from hers, he turned onto her street. He pulled into the driveway of her house and stopped. There was awkward silence.

"Thank you, I guess... For helping me last night. I shouldn't have had that much to drink. Any guy could've taken advantage of me. So, I guess I'm not mad at you or anything..." Lily shrugged, opening the door. "Just, thanks." She slid out and shut it behind her, walking up to her front door.

She opened the glass door and dug her keys out of her pocket, looking back as Brendan pulled out of her driveway. She unlocked her door and went inside.


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Notes: Wow, this I do believe is close to my longest chapter yet. Or at least, I hope so. I also do believe it to be my best and most favorite chapter. I just hope it's good for you all too. I was gonna make it a lot shorter, but I think this is fine as it is. Maybe a bit too long, but I couldn't find any good ways to end it earlier. I'm happy with it as it is.

Music I listened to while writing this chapter:

Buddy Holly - Weezer

Love You Down - INOJ

Always - Saliva

Stupid - Sarah McLachlan

Listen to Your Heart - U.H.T.

Wonderwall - Oasis

Champagne Supernova - Oasis

Chicago is So Two Years Ago - Fall Out Boy

Ok, here's Chapter 11! Please do enjoy! Read and review!

Brendan arrived at his apartment complex, parked his truck and headed up to his place. Unlocking the door, he slipped inside and shut it behind him, taking off his shoes immediately. Shrugging out of his jacket, he tossed it across the couch, heading into his room. His bed was unmade and he tried hard to not imagine her there, under his blankets, just like she had been that morning.

Quickly and sloppily, he made the bed. He mostly just pulled the sheets up over the pillows, then the blanket. It still smelled like her. He needed a dog. A big one that would roll all around his bed and his house and take away the sweet smell of vanilla that she seemed to leave everywhere.

Snatching up the permission forms from his computer desk, he went into his living room and sat down, digging a pen out of his couch. He began to fill it out. First name, last name, destination, purpose of the trip, medical information, what he was allergic to... Since he was 18, he could legally fill out everything and sign it all, then be done. Lily, of course, would need a parent's signature.

Lily. Why did she just pop into his head like that? He closed his eyes, rubbing his temples. He needed to do something to distract him. He could fix the bathroom door. That was a good idea. He'd need to go out to Home Depot and get things to fix the door with, but he could more t Lhan likely get it done and waste a couple hours doing it. Then he could practice some more DDR, needed to work even harder for the tournament. That would definitely get her out of his head for a little while... Sighing, he stood up and grabbed his keys, heading out again.

Lily sighed, flipping through the TV channels only to discover that the third time around the guide doesn't make good shows magically appear. Especially on a Sunday. Giving up, she turned off the TV and stretched. That had killed a couple hours with infomertials. She even saw her favorites, the Magic Bullet blender and Little Giant Ladder System. Ooooh.

Deciding that she wasn't going anywhere today, she changed into comfy pants and a long sleeved tee. She sat down in front of her computer, tapping the spacebar until it whirred to life. After logging on, her ears perked up as her cell phone went off, still in her jacket pocket on the floor in her living room. Sighing, she got up from her chair and quickly followed the ringtone, digging the cell phone out only to see it was Wayne calling. Deciding she didn't want to talk to him, as usual, she silenced the tone and went back into her room. He didn't leave a message. She shrugged and logged onto Counter Strike, turning up the volume. Now for some fun.

A few hours later, Lily logged off and put her computer into sleep mode again. Glancing at the clock, she sighed as it read 6 PM. Her stomach growled at its lack of food content. Pulling her piggy bank down off a shelf, she scrouned up 9 dollars and called her favorite chinese dilivery place, Skillman Wok. Her orange chicken would arrive within 30 minutes.

She went into the living room, setting the money on the table and curling up on the couch. The Sunday night goodies were finally on TV and she settled on The Simpsons. Her doorbell rang about halfway through the show. Muting the TV, she gathered up her money quickly and answered the door, expecting her food.

Instead, Wayne stood there. It had already gotten dark outside, making him look even creepier than usual.

"Wayne..." She breathed, all color draining from her face. He stepped inside, forcing her to take several steps back, her hands coming up a bit defensively. Without taking his eyes off her, he shut the door behind him. She could already smelled the alcohol on him. He swayed slightly as he approached her even further, indicating he was pretty intoxicated.

Soon he had her back up against a wall, his hands on either side of her, face too close to hers, "Why did you leave without me last night?" He asked darkly, "Who did you leave with?"

"I-I didn't leave with anyone, Wayne. I just went home because I had a headache. Some girls told me you were busy so Brendan gave me a ride home-"

Before she knew what had happened, her whole face reeled and she saw stars for a moment. He had slapped her! Tears welled up in her eyes as she covered her cheek, looking back at him.

"Don't lie to me! Brittany told me she saw you two outside together under a streetlight! She said it looked like he was going to kiss you. I can't believe you'd cheat on me! After all I've done for you..."

"Done for me! As if! And like you're the one to talk about cheating! It's not like you're a saint who's never done anything to betray ME!"

He slapped her again, across the other cheek. She forced herself not to yelp, now avoiding his gaze. It was useless. She just needed to get away from him. His hands grabbed her sides, as if sensing what she was planning to do.

"I can forgive you, Lily. I'll give you another chance. But you have to prove you're worth it." One hand stayed at her waist, the other grabbing at her breast through her shirt as he shoved her up against the wall.

She closed her eyes. It was no use... Her parents weren't there, she had no one to scream for... Then she remembered. 'If you need anything at all, call me...'

Brendan.

She had to get to her cell phone. He was distracted momentarily as he tried to lift her shirt up and she took advantage of that, bracing her hands up against his chest and shoving as hard as she could. He nearly lost his balance at that and fell back slightly, but that was all she needed. She ducked under his arms and rushed down the hallway into her room. The money fell from her hand, forgotten onto the floor.

Shutting the door, she locked it and picked up her cell phone from where it was near her computer. She went down her contacts list, finding his name and hitting the call button. She heard it ring. And ring. The door shuddered as Wayne pounded on it and she stood up against it. After another ring, she heard someone pick up, then his familiar voice, "Lily?"

"Help-" Was all she could get out before Wayne shoved through the door behind her, sending her and her cell phone flying half across her room. She shrieked a bit as she fell and reached for her cell phone again, but Wayne picked it up before she could, snapping it closed. Hanging up on Brendan. He tossed it aside and laughed at her.

"Who are you calling? Brendan? Think he'll help you?" Reaching down, he pulled her up to her feet before shoving her onto her bed. "No one can help you. You're mine." His hand grabbed her ankle, tugging at her cotton pants, but she managed to kick him away and even in the face. He growled and moved up, pinning her under his body, his hands roaming all over her.

"Are you gonna scream, Lily?" He whispered maliciously into her ear. She closed her eyes and turned her head away. He reached up, his hand wrapping easily around most of her jaw, forcing her face back to him. His mouth pressed against hers and she tried to push him away. It was disgusting, the way he was touching her, the way he was trying to kiss her, the way he smelt, it was all so very gross... Her stomach turned when he tried to force his tongue into her mouth, but she bit it and he quickly withdrew.

Giving up on her mouth, he began to bite her neck, not gently, just wanted to cause her pain and leave his own markings on her. Freeing one hand out from underneath him, she tried as best she could to shove him off of her. But he was heavy and gravity was in his favor now; she barely moved him. The hand on her jaw released her and instead grabbed her wrist, pulling it up over her head. Soon her second hand followed, both held there by his hand, his other trying furiously to pull up her shirt.

Slowly, he succeeded, pulling the thin fabric up inch by inch, revealing her flesh. She shuddered unpleasantly at his touch, thoughts of Brendan running through her mind, wondering if he was going to save her. If he had even realized why she called. If he was mad because he thought she'd just hung up on him...

Her body again shivered as he pulled her shirt up and over her bra, his eyes now glowing fondly with lust. His hand slid under the lacy article and it was ice on her, making her whimper as he groped her much too hard. He wanted more. Withdrawing the hand, he slid it under her back, reaching for her bra's clasp. Fortunately, he was too drunk to realize this particular one snapped in the front and instead spent quite a bit of time feeling around for it.

Finally he grew irritated and grabbed the strap, beginning to pull hard, intent on ripping it off of her. The fabric cut into her skin harshly as he did, making her wince. She'd stopped fighting him and now lay quietly, just waiting for him to finish so he would leave her alone. Suddenly she felt his weight being yanked off of her and he let go of her bra with a snap. She sat up quickly to see Brendan throwing his best right hook across Wayne's cheek. He dropped him to the floor, pushing his shoe-covered foot into the back of his neck, forcing his face painfully into the carpet.

"If you show your face to her once again, I swear to God, I will hunt you down and kill you. Don't ever doubt that. The things you have done to women are atrocious and I never want to hear from you again. Don't contact her, don't look at her, don't even fucking think about her. And if you don't think I'll kill you, you're probably right. It's probably the rage talking, but trust me, I'll beat to within an inch of your life, then turn you over to my father's side of the law. And I promise you, it will not be any better." He hissed, digging his foot even further into Wayne's neck with every word, meaning it all truly. Shoving down once more, he finally withdrew his foot and watched Wayne get to his feet, his eyes avoiding Brendan's and instead staring hatefully at Lily.

Brendan grabbed his shirt front and forced Wayne to look him straight in the eye, "What the fuck did I say about looking? Get out of here!" Shoving Wayne back forcefully, he stared as Wayne stumbled out of the room. The front door slammed a few moments later.

Brendan looked back to Lily, who sat on her bed, straightening her shirt as silent tears running down her cheeks. He kneeled down next to her, beside her bed, gently cupping her chin with his fingers, pressing his forehead against hers. Her eyes closed and weakly, she wrapped her arms around his neck loosely in a small jesture of thanks. He returned the embrace, pulling her a bit closer to him and hugged her warmly.

"I was so scared that you weren't gonna come... That you didn't know that I needed you... That you'd think I was just calling and hanging up..." She whispered, tears still falling down her cheeks. "That he was gonna hurt me again..."

"I'm never gonna let that happen to you, Lily. You're never going to be hurt by him or anyone else again. I promise you that. I'll protect you..." He said softly, stroking her hair to comfort her, just like he did the night before after her nightmare.

She buried her face in his neck, inhaling his scent and already felt much more relaxed. "Can I stay with you? Until my parents get back?" She asked softly, tentative. "I just... I'm scared he'll come back and I won't have the chance to call you..."

"I was about to suggest that," Brendan smiled, pulling back and kissing her forehead. "What do you need to take with you?"

Lily looked around, biting her lower lip. It was then that he noticed the red marks on her cheeks that were started to swell slightly.

"My God, Lily... He hit you?" He tilted her head up a bit, checking for bruises. Lily stayed silent for a moment, then spoke quietly.

"He thought I cheated on him with you...I told him I didn't but he wouldn't believe me."

"That hypocritical son of a bitch... I should have hit him harder." Brendan muttered. His fingers still tingled from the impact of the very hard hit, but he figured he could've hit even harder. If he had known...

Drawing her back into his arms, he gave her a warm hug before pulling back and brushing the hair out of her eyes. "Ok, I'm gonna take you to my house now and he won't hurt you there. I highly doubt he'll ever hurt you again, but this is a precaution. Get your things."

Lily nodded, standing up and moving to her closet. She pulled out some jeans, a skirt, a few shirts and tossed them on the bed. Then a couple more pairs of pajama pants and a shirt similar to the one she wore now, only black. Going over to her dresser, she blushed as he watched her pick out some underwear and a few bras, putting them on top of the small pile before bundling it all up. She turned to find Brendan holding out her old and empty backpack. Smiling gratefully, she took it from him and shoved all of her clothes in, along with the toothbrush and toothpaste from her bathroom.

She had just slung the pack over her back when the doorbell rang. Lily froze, thinking it might be Wayne. Brendan nodded before going to the front door and opening it slowly, cautiously. A guy stood in a red jacket with a brown bag in his outstretched hand.

"Total is seven forty-two." He said boredly.

She'd totally forgotten. "I um, ordered some before Wayne showed up. That's the only reason I even opened the door..." She murmured from behind Brendan, crouching down to gather up the dropped bills and change. But when she looked up, Brendan had already handed the guy a ten and taken the food. He closed the door and smiled softly at her. She straightened again, offering him the cash. Brendan shook his head.

"Wanna eat this here or at my place?" He asked, also taking her backpack from her. She'd removed it when the doorbell rang.

"Um... Your place, I guess. It's ok, really. I can carry this stuff." She said shyly, watching him swing her backpack onto his shoulder. He shook his head again and opened the door, peering outside. Wayne's truck was gone, and he nodded to Lily before opening it the rest of the way for her.

He even opened the car door for her, handing her the chinese food and putting the backpack in the backseat, or whatever pathetic excuse for one it was. The food was warm in her lap and she put on the seatbelt as soon as he got in and started the car.

He backed out of her driveway and his hand found hers in the darkness of the car. She blushed softly, intertwining her fingers with his, staring out the window. Today had turned out not so badly.


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Notes: Sorry about this late update, I was recovering from oral surgery (ouch) and haven't really been inspired much due to pain killers. I hope to have this one up really soon. Plus recently I've grown sick, so don't get mad at me for this one taking so long to be put up. Tell me what you think.

Chapter 12

When they walked through his door, Brendan took her jacket and hung it in his coat cloaset, instructing her to go ahead and eat.

"Would you like some too?" Lily asked from his kitchen, pulling a plate down out of the cabinet.

"If there's enough. If not, don't worry about it." He replied, hanging up his jacket as well.

"Oh, no, there's plenty for us both. And you paid for it, so I'll make you at least eat some." She smiled brightly at him while sorting the food onto the plates.

Pulling open a drawer, she withdrew two forks and pushed them into the food. Lily picked up the plates and carried them over to where Brendan was in the living room, handing him one. He took it from her and thanked her, noting that her cheeks were already looking a lot better.

They sat on seperate couches, eating quietly but quickly, sneaking glances at each other and looking away when caught. Lily looked down at the floor and suddenly realized Brendan's Cobalt Flux pad was pulled out in the middle of the floor along with his PS2, an empty Max2 case laying open next to it.

"I was practicing for New York when you called. Maybe we should practice together tonight," Brendan commented. Lily nodded, swallowing her mouthful. They both looked down at her now empty plate. "You must've been hungry.

Lily smiled shyly, "A bit..."

Brendan stood up and took her plate and his into the kitchen, rinsing them off and dropping them in the sink. He came back into the living room to find Lily stretched out over his long couch, her head resting on a pillow and eyes closed. She opened one when she sensed him staring, "I ate a lot and now I'm tired, what?"

"Nothing. You wanna take a nap?" Brendan glanced at the clock. It was close to 8:30. "Or just go to bed early?"

She shook her head and sat up, "Can we do something though? I'm bored."

"Sure, we just ate, so no DDR for a little while... Wanna watch a movie?" He shrugged, looking to her for approval.

Lily nodded, sliding off the couch and going over to where he kept his DVDs. Brendan sat down on the couch and watched her sort through them, frowing at each one.

"Girl Next Door? You are such a guy." She commented, pulling out the case. It was even the 'uncensored version'.

"That's not mine. It's Thomas's. He's trying to make me watch it by leaving it at my house all the time. All it does is sit there." Brendan defended himself, shrugging.

"Suuure..." Lily grinned, putting it back. A few moments later she pulled out Mission Impossible, holding it up to him. "How about this? I haven't seen it in forever..."

He shrugged, "If you want. Not like I haven't seen it a billion times, but one more is fine." He smiled at her.

Lily smiled sweetly at him, putting the DVD in the player and starting it. She came back and sat down on the other couch, watching the movie's credits begin.

"You just wanna watch it for Tom Cruise, don't you?" Brendan suggested, watching her and not the screen.

"Nah, if I wanted to stare at him being really hot, I'd be watching Interview With the Vampire. Mmm, Lestat." She replied, smiling.

"Fangirl."

"Am not!"

"Fangirl."

"Lies!"

"Fan. Girl."

Smack. A pillow hit him in the face, sliding down into his lap.

"Am not-!" The same pillow hit her. She leaped off her couch and nearly tackled him, beginning to tickle his sides. Hestarted laughing, struggling to push her off, but she knew all of his most ticklish spots and managed to stay practically on top of him.

Finally he intercepted his hands, grabbing her wrists and pushing her off of him, onto the floor. Lily landed with a thump, dragging down a blanket that had been on the back of the couch.

Realizing he was about to retaliate, she pulled the blanket up over herself, curling into a ball.

"On, no you don't." Brendan muttered, sliding down next to her. He grabbed the blanket from the bottom and started to pull it off. She squeaked, trying to keep it down, but he won and soon it was yanked off, messing up her hair in the process.

Brendan grinned, grabbing her sides and starting to tickle them. Lily shrieked and laughed, practically underneath him now, reaching up and trying to tickle him back. He grabbed her hands, lacing his fingers with hers, a soft smile on his lips as they both quieted and Lily calmed down. It was then that she realized the position they were in, him on top of her, his leg between hers, fingers intertwined.

"Brendan..." She whispered, seeing the gentleness in his eyes, mixed with something else... "We should stop-"

His lips met her parted ones, soft and sweet, tentative at first, but growing braver as she didn't shove him away. Slowly, she returned the kiss, his hand moving up as he slid his fingers through her hair, her arms wrapping around his neck, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss.

Slowly his other hand drifted down her side, squeezing her hip slightly before slipping under her shirt, tracing up over her flesh.

Lily froze, her mind flashing back to Wayne. But Brendan wasn't Wayne. And yet suddenly he was, suddenly Brendan was gone and it was Wayne on top of her, touching her...

Forcing her.

She chocked out a, "Please.." her hands trying to push him off. Brendan stopped, pulling back and looking at her. Tears were slipping down her cheeks and he could've kicked himself.

He pulled her up into his arms, holding her close. "Lily, it's me, Brendan... I'm sorry, that was stupid of me... You're okay..." He whispered, kissing her forehead.


	13. Chapter 13

Author's notes: I lost all of my live stats! AAAGH! That means I lost all of my chapter counts on how many people had visited it. So now I have like, 12 for the first chapter and it steadily decreases down to 11. Uggghh... I hope I get them all back soon. VISIT OFTEN AND GET YOUR FRIENDS TO READ!

Chapter 13

They stayed like that for a long time, Lily curled up against Brendan's body, his arms around her. After a little while, she stopped crying and relaxed slowly.

"It's all my fault," She said blankly after a little while, "I let him... I could've stopped him, I just didn't know how. It's my own fault I'm so broken."

"No, Lily. It was him and him alone. He made that decision, there wasn't anything you could've done. He probably would've hurt you even more if you had tried to stop him. You saved yourself from much worse, if anything." Brendan replied immediately and firmly, looking into her eyes.

She shrugged, looking away but he pulled her back toward him, "You're a very strong girl, Lily. You didn't do anything wrong."

Sighing, she just curled up against him, hiding her face in his chest and closing her eyes. Brendan held her there until her breathing became deep and slow.

"Lily?" He asked quietly, shaking her a tiny bit. She didn't reply and he reached over to the DVD remote, turning off the long forgotten movie along with the TV. Picking her up, he carried her into his room and pulled back the blankets from his bed before tucking her in under them.

She sighed and rolled onto her side toward him, curling up in her sleep. He crouched down next to her, brushing the hair away from her face and tracing over a cheek with a finger.

"Even after all of this, even after you hating me and finding someone else... I've always loved you. Even now. Especially now." He whispered, running his fingers through her hair, "I'll never let anyone hurt you again. I promise."

He pulled away, moving to his closet and pulling out a spare blanket before exiting the room quietly, shutting the door behind him.

Lily opened her eyes, sighed softly and rolled over.

Brendan set up his 'bed' on the couch in the living room, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and setting his alarm for 6 AM. He had to be at work by 7. He had two jobs and the one he was working at tomorrow was definitely not his favorite of the two. He worked at McDonalds doing shifts when he could, but he didn't enjoy it. That job paid his apartment's rent every month.

His second job was a photographer at certain, usually small shoots. Thomas's dad got him in once he found out how much Brendan liked photography and just how good he was at it. He didn't do big things, but it was still something he really enjoyed and it paid a hell of a lot better than McDonald's.

Stretching out over the chouch, he thought back on the evening. If he hadn't have started touching her so quickly, he wondered just how long Lily would've let him kiss her...

Deciding this was something best not thought about with her staying in his apartment for quite a bit, he rolled over and let his mind drift to other, more peaceful things.

Lily woke up the next morning, sunlight streaming through the windows and scattering across the bed. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she sat up and looked over at the clock on his desk. It was 8:30. Looking around Brendan's room, she imagined him walking around in there. All by himself.

Pulling back the blankets, she slid out of his bed and stretched, standing up. Walking to his door, she opened it and went into the living room, expecting to find him asleep on the couch. But she only saw his blanket, folded up and set down neatly.

"Brendan?" She called out softly. Lily spotted a piece of paper with his handwriting on the counter. She picked it up.

"Had to work until noon, then maybe we can go to the arcade or something. Help yourself to whatever you want.

Love, Brendan"

'Love, Brendan'. She stared at those final words for a moment, then set the note down, sighing softly to herself. She still wasn't hungry due to the huge amount of chinese food she'd had the night before.

Lily sat down on the couch and flipped on the TV. Brendan was being so nice to her... Coming to her rescue, buying her her favorite food, letting her stay in his apartment and even today he was going to take her to the arcade. There had to be something she could do to repay him... She looked around and it struck her. She'd clean up his apartment!

Smiling to herself, she turned off the TV and rolled back her sleeves, determination in her eyes.

She started in the kitchen, sweeping the floors, cleaning the counters, doing the dishes and putting them away. Then in his living room, she put away his dance pad and PS2, vacuumed the carpet, put all the throw pillows on the couches correctly, and dusted his entertainment center (TV, VCR/DVD combo, XBox, and stereo system). She vacuumed the hallway and cleaned everything in his bathroom, finished a load of laundry he'd started and then moved into his bedroom.

First, she mad his bed, then straightened up his closet, dusted around his computer table, began to defragment his computer's harddrive (gotta clean everything!) and began to vacuum around his bed. She stopped whenever it collided with something very big and heavy under the bed.

Turning off the vacuum, she crouched down and reached under his bed, feeling around and pulling out the object. It was a box. A thick and heavy box without a lid, pictures scattered everywhere in it, all turned upsidedown. Slowly, she began pulling them out; most were framed, some were not, but they were all pictures of her or both of them together, when they were still a couple.

At the bottom of the box were all of the cards she'd given him on different occasions, gifts from anniversaries and birthdays, and one preserved rose from Valentine's Day.

He'd kept it all... She'd always assumed that he had just gotten rid of everything she'd ever given to him when he broke up with her, as angry as he'd been. Then again, she had a shoebox under her bed with pictures and cards as well. He pictures were much better than hers. He was very good at really capturing the moment and her true smile when took pictures of her, which he did often.

She was surprised when a tear slid down onto the photo of them together, his arms around her, that she held in her hands.

Did she still love him?

Just then, she heard the door open and Brendan's voice call out her name. Lily panicked, shoving everything back into the box hastily and pushing it under his bed, standing up just as he entered the room.

"Wow, Lily... You cleaned my place? Why?" He had a soft smile on his face and she tried her best not to look flustered.

"Oh. Well, you've just been so nice and helpful... And you're letting me stay here, so I thought it was you know, the least I could do..." Lily shrugged, trailing off and giving him a small smile back.

"Thank you. You really didn't have to, but it's very appreciated. Dod you want to go to the arcade? Thomas said he wanted to do something today. Since Caleb's not around for him to abuse anymore." Brendan moved over to his closet, sorting through and pulling out a shirt. "Wow, you even did my laundry..."

"Sure, but um... I don't have any money. I do have that bit from the chinese you paid for last night..."

"Oh, it's fine. You can pay for drinks, I'll take care of the rest."

"Ok... I'm gonna go take a shower real quick, then." She had to get out of there before he noticed she was blushing.

"K. I'll take one when we get back."

Lily slipped out of the room, sighing softly to herself. Picking out some clean clothes from her bag, she headed for the bathroom.

Brendan closed his door and pulled off his McDonalds work shirt. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he bent down to untie his shoes, but stopped when he noticed something on the floor. Picking it up, he realized it was a photograph of them. How did that get out? Kneeling down, he looked under his bed and noticed the Box was pushed back further than his usual shove. Lily must've found it while cleaning...

He groaned inwardly, wondering if she thought he was some kind of stalker freak that never let go of anything. That was why she'd looked so freaked out earlier...

There was no way he could talk to her about it, what was he supposed to say? He never threw any of the stuff she'd given him away because he never really stopped loving her? Yeah, that'd go real smooth. It wasn't like she'd saved everything he'd given her. He was just pathetic.

Slipping the picture into the box, he stood up and stared at the floor. He heard the water in the bathroom turn on. She was taking a shower. Once again, he decided this was something best not thought about with her temporarily living with him.

He changed quickly and called Thomas, waking him up and telling him to come over Or Else. Thomas grumbled what Brendan assumed was a yes before hanging up. Then he headed into the kitchen to make them some lunch sandwiches.


	14. Chapter 14

AN: I'm really sorry this took so long. Gah, drama drama (and not just in the story), oh well, all in the typical life of a high school girl, right? But this is finally Thanksgiving break and I should be able to work on this a lot more this week, in between eating too much and sleeping too often.

Music I listened to while writing this chapter:

Hey You - The Exies

Superman's Dead - Our Lady Peace

Rest In Pieces - Saliva

Always - Saliva

I Am Fred Astaire - Taking Back Sunday

I'm Not Okay (I Promise) - My Chemical Romance

mOBSCENE - Marilyn Manson

Breakaway - Kelly Clarkson

Precious - Depeche Mode

Dirty Little Secret - The All American Rejects

Move Along - The All American Rejects

As you might be able to tell, I have quite the extensive and awesome music collection. Basically, if it's fun to listen to, I'll listen to it. Hence, no rap. Sorry if you like it.

Note: Now means that there's been either a time change in the story or switching points of view.

Chapter 14

Lily came out of the bathroom, dressed and hair pulled back, still slightly damp. She found a plate with a sandwich and glass of milk waiting for her on the counter. Brendan was eating his already, sitting on the couch. She picked up her food and sat down on the other one, beginning to eat quickly as her stomach growled.

"Thank you." She said about halfway through. She had no idea she had been this hungry until now.

"No problem. We'll go when you're through." Brendan replied, standing up and putting his empty plate in the sink. He went into his room and grabbed a pair of socks, along with a smaller pair for Lily, since she probably forgot her own.

When he came out of the room, Lily was rinsing out her glass in the sink, along with her plate. She glanced up and saw him standing there, holding out socks for her and smiled sheepishly, walking over and taking them.

"I forgot..." She said softly, sitting down to put them on.

"Yeah, I figured you would." He grinned, copying her. They put on their shoes as well and then there was a knock on the door. Thomas didn't even wait for Brendan to open it, he just came in.

"Hey Thomas, good timing, we're going." Brendan said, going over to Thomas and patting him on the back.

"I'm only going with you guys because I've got nothing better to do. Nerds." Thomas huffed, staring at Brendan.

"You play DDR. Don't even deny it." Brendan countered.

"Whatever, on standard. I'm not a loser." Thomas grinned as Brendan shrugged.

They took Brendan's truck and Lily sat in between them, quite aware that she was partially pressed up against Brendan as he drove along with how warm he was, up against her like that. He also smelt good. Really good. That wonderfully male smell. She was almost sorry when they arrived at the arcade.

It was 'Monday Madness'. Pay ten dollars, get unlimited games. Not too many people were there, considering they were still on break. They all entered and Brendan paid for he and Lily while Thomas paid for himself. The moment they stepped near the DDR machines, they noticed that they were already taken. One girl was playing Freckles on doubles on heavy.

She had long black hair with cherry red streaks, wore a red tank top and black baggy jeans with a jacket tied around her waist. Lily recognized her as someone from her school, Alexis, but she didn't know her personally. They were in the same grade and had a couple of classes together, but that was all.

If Alexis was here, then that meant Adriel was as well. Adriel was Alexis's older brother, graduated last year and played DDR a lot. One of the best players she knew, but an elitist asshole. He shared Alexis's dark hair and eyes, but not her calm, more sarcastic personality. He was arrogant and rude and pretty much thought this arcade was 'his', despite the fact they'd been going here just as long as he had.

"Well, well... Haven't seen the Dream Team all together here in a long while." Came a drawling voice. Sure enough, it was Adriel, approaching them with a bottle of water. "What are you doing here?"

"We came because we wanted to have some fun and I heard they had a new machine." Brendan replied, shrugging, "I don't come just to show off, you know."

"Ah, yes, you play at home so no one can see you fail." Adriel smirked.

"More like I don't have to only play in arcades because I don't depend on the bar for balance." Brendan stated, gestering to the bright red bar behind the dance pad.

"It's there for a reason!" Adriel growled, trying to justify himself.

"Yeah, in case you're falling off. Not for moving faster. You should be able to move fast enough on your own." Brendan remarked, watching Alexis as she finished her song and stepped off the pad. She turned and spotted them, picking up her water bottle and making her way over. She smiled when she spotted Thomas.

"Tommy!" She said happily, running up and giving him a hug.

"Lexie? Hey! Didn't recognize you there with the new hair.." Thomas grinned, hugging her back.

Brendan smiled to himself. This was the Lexie that Thomas had had feelings for.

"Yeah, I know. I dyed my hair for a concert I was going to, but then decided I liked it a bit too much and made it permanent." Alexis grinned, pulling back from Thomas. "I miss having you in art class. Remember the creativity stick?"

They both began laughing hard at their inside joke.

"Hi, I'm Brendan, Thomas's best friend, and this is Lily. Thomas obviously doesn't know how to introduce people." Brendan said after they'd stopped laughing.

"Oh, I already know who you guys are. You two won the tournament. I didn't go 'cause Adriel already got us into it." Alexis replied, smiling softly.

It was then that they realized that Adriel had gone off to play DDR alone. Alexis shrugged, then turned to Thomas, "Come on! I wanna beat you at Soul Calibur 2!" She grabbed his arm, tugging on it.

"Ok, ok, I'l meet up with you guys later." Thomas said to Brendan and Lily as Alexis dragged him off, although he didn't seem to mind.

Brendan turned to Lily, smiling, "I think he likes her."

Lily laughed softly and nodded, leaving a slightly awkward silence between them for a moment.

"Oooh, they have Extreme now!" Lily grinned, rushing over to it. Brendan followed her and they started playing.

"It's really nice to see you again." Alexis said after 3 rounds of Soul Calibur 2. She'd won 2 of them, the first and last.

"Yeah, I really missed seeing you every day. We didn't even have lunch together this year." Thomas replied as they sat down in a booth in the "Snack Centre". He had bought them both drinks. "How are things with you boyfriend?"

"Oh, James? We've been over for a while. He 'needed a break'. Apparently it became a permanent one." She rolled her eyes.

"I don't see how anyone could need a break from you." Thomas said suddenly, almost without realizing it.

Alexis looked down at her drink, "You're just saying that."

"Oh no, you have no idea. I think you're one of the prettiest and coolest girl's I've ever known." His fingers covered hers for a moment and she blushed deeply.

"Thanks..."

An awkward minute passed between them before Thomas withdrew his hand, breaking it, "I guess that means you're single now."

Alexis laughed and looked up, "That's what generally happens when you break up with someone, yes." Glancing over, she saw Brendan and Lily playfully trying to push each other off the dance pads, fighting over who would pick the next song. "Speaking of break ups, are they back together yet?"

"Not exactly, but I have a feeling they will be soon. Brendan was way too in love with her to never get her back. They're both just too stubborn to tell each other they still have feelings for each other." Thomas shrugged, looking back at Alexis.

"We should help them with that!" She cried suddenly.

AN: (Again) Ok, sorry this one's ending abruptly, but at least it was updated, ne? I hope to put up one more chapter before I'm forced back into school. So, new characters! Love them? Hate them? REVIEW AND TELL ME.

And one MAJOR note. I'm really sorry for all the errors in certain things. See, I write most of this on paper in school or just when I'm not near my computer and then I transfer it, but I type way too fast for my own good (about 90 GWAM, bleh) and I miss things or add things sometimes without realizing it. Lea (my semi-secret agent) is supposed to spell check and grammar check, but as you can see... Yeah. Sorry.


	15. Chapter 15

IT'S DONE! I know it's been a long while, but I hope you'll find it was worth the wait. I was in a slump and just couldn't think of anything.

Also, someone contacted me recently and told me he or she had written a continuation of my story. That's a compliment, I guess, but please, ask my permission before doing something like that. I know it's fanfiction and stuff, but come on, this is the furthest from fanfiction I've ever written. Everything's mine, except for DDR and a few other things. So seriously, ask me before you do something like that.

Chapter 15

Thomas was nearly taken back, "Help them? How?"

"Well, you know... Force them in awkward situations until they realize how much they still like each other," She grinned, watching Brendan and Lily play across the arcade from the 'Snack Centre' where they currently were.

"I'm sure they'll figure it out on their own. Brendan would kill me if he ever even thought that I was trying to do something like that." Thomas shook his head, looking down at the table.

"Hey, Alexis. Let's go." Adriel commanded, now standing next to her and grabbing her arm. Alexis jerked away.

"No, Adriel. I'm not done here, I'm talking to my friend that I haven't seen in a long time." Alexis replied without even looking up.

"Fine. Get your own ride home, then. And don't be late home." Adriel growled.

"Um, I can't be late, I don't have a curfew. I'll just call to let mom know I'll be home later than usual." She said coolly, waving her brother off.

Adriel frowned at both of them before stomping off hotly, his fists clenched. Alexis giggled when he was gone, "I love pissing him off."

"So I guess I'm giving you a ride home?" Thomas grinned.

Lily stepped off the pad after a round of doubles, finding Brendan there, holding out a bottle of water for her. She took it from him, thanked him and proceeded to gulp down about half of it immediately.

"You've gotten a lot better at doubles. You don't panic nearly as often as when you were first starting." Brendan said, smiling at her.

Lily stuck her tongue out at him and noticed Thomas and Alexis approaching.

"Hey guys." She said as they neared, smiling softly.

"Yo. The arcade's gonna close pretty soon and we were just wondering what we were gonna do afterwards..." Thomas said, Alexis nodding.

"Um... I don't know..." Lily replied, turning to Brendan, who shrugged. Just then, Brendan's cell phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket, turning away from them and answering quickly. They all waited until he was done and turned back around.

"Well, I can't go anywhere, just got a call saying they need me for a photo shoot ASAP. So, Thomas, your car is at my place and we'll head there. Alexis, are you coming with?" Brendan turned to the girl he was question, pulling his keys out of his pocket. Alexis nodded and they headed in direction of the door.

As soon as they stepped outside, Lily noticed a light sleeting rain had started and sighed, wrapping her arms around herself. Brendan watched her and moved closer, slipping an arm around her shoulders, keeping her close to his body heat. She obliged, blushing slightly to herself. Alexis grinned at the two of them, poking Thomas, who just rolled his eyes.

They piled into Brendan's truck with Lily in the middle and Alexis in Thomas's lap, somewhat awkward, but they laughed it off after a bit. When they arrived at Brendan's apartment complex, Thomas and Alexis decided they would head off so they could catch up with each other and Brendan and Lily waved them goodbye. Lily then followed Brendan upstairs to his apartment, watching him run around gathering up stuff he'd need.

"Ok, it shouldn't be more than a few hours. I'll have my cell phone on me, but I can't promise I'll be able to answer. Uh... There are movies and stuff here for you to watch. You can always drag out my Cobalt Flux if you get really bored..." Brendan half smiled, setting his things on the table, "I'm really sorry I just got called in like this. Usually I have a few days notice, or even a couple hours... I'll make it up to you."

"Why would you have to make it up to me?" Lily asked, confused.

"Well, we were gonna hang out with them and have some fun tonight, but now I have to leave you here alone..." Brendan set his stuff down near the door, looking back at her.

"Oh, don't worry about it. We'll have time to hang out while I'm staying here. I mean, you kind of need to make money, so I'm not mad or anything." Lily replied, sitting down on the edge of the couch and shrugging.

"I wanna make it up to you, though. How about dinner tomorrow night?" Brendan asked as Lily's face went almost blank, surprised.

"Well... Um, sure, I guess." She finally managed, trying very hard not to blush. Brendan gave her a big smile.

"Great, I'll see you when I get back." He replied, stepping outside and shutting the door quickly behind him.

"See you..." Lily whispered, mostly to herself. The same thought kept running back through her mind. He was asking her out on a date. Sort of. Or so she hoped. What if he didn't mean it that way, though? What if he just saw it as a way to make up for missing out on tonight...?

She probably shouldn't be thinking about this.

Tonight's model was too skinny, as usual. Of course it was because the camera adds ten pounds. Not really. Something was wrong tonight. Everything was going smoothly, it wasn't like he was messing up... It just seemed like he was on auto-pilot. His brain was automatically taking the pictures, moving the camera to all the right angles, but he wasn't thinking about this at all.

He was thinking about her. What was she doing right now? It was nearly midnight, was she asleep yet? In his bed? He tried not to envision that in his mind's eye, but as the clock neared the time he was to finish up and go home, he couldn't help but imagine her there, waiting for him. What was he going to do if she was in his bed?

Better yet, what was he going to do tomorrow night? A date with her sounded fine and dandy in his mind, another chance to get back with her, but now that he was actually taking her out, he was getting more and more irked at the idea. A tap on the shoulder broke him out of his slight trance and he jumped a bit, turning around to see this night's manager standing there, holding out her hand.

"Your film, please?" She said, sounding almost irritated. She must've been standing there for a while.

"Oh yeah, sorry..." Brendan muttered, taking the used film from his camera and dropping it into her hand.

"You also have a young lady waiting for you. I told her she could stay in the hall until we were done." The woman said, looking through the film he'd just handed her.

"W-what? How long has she been there?" Brendan asked, looking around and spotting the doors to the hallway. It had to be Lily. How did she get here?

"It's been about an hour. I didn't want to tell you until the shoot was done. Thanks for doing such a great job. We'll deposit the money into your account tonight and you should have it by 10 AM." She said, turning and walking away.

Brendan quickly gathered up his things and nearly jogged over to where the suspected Lily was, pushing through the doors. He found her there, curled up on the floor with her head resting on a balled up jacket, eyes closed. Setting his things near, he knelt down beside her, brushing some hair away from her face.

Her eyes fluttered open and she gasped, sitting up quickly, "Oh my gosh, I didn't mean to fall asleep. I was just resting my eyes until you came out..."

"Why are you here, Lily? How did you get here?" Brendan replied, smiling softly at her.

"Thomas gave me a ride... I couldn't sleep and the apartment was too quiet by myself... I just wanted to come and watch you work or something..." Lily said softly, a blush creeping up her cheeks. "Sounds kinda dumb, huh? I can't even stay home alone anymore."

"No, not at all. I'm just mad at my manager for not telling me you were here. I would've let you do something other than just sit in here." He said, helping her to her feet, "I'm sorry you got scared at the apartment, though... I'll try not to leave you alone when I go working while you're staying at my place."

"It's okay. Thomas was really nice about it. I think I interrupted something between he and Alexis, though, he sounded kind of distracted." Lily smiled softly, "He really likes her, I guess."

"Yeah, he wouldn't shut up about her when he first met her in Art. When I told him he was gushing, he'd just say that I did the same about you, though..." Brendan trailed off, looking away from her. She glanced down at the floor, sighing softly to herself.

"Let's get home." He murmured after a minute, picking up his camera. She nodded, following after him. They walked silently to his truck, he opened her door for her and asked her to hold his things until they got to his apartment. The drive was quiet, except for the radio playing.

"Brendan..." Lily said quietly, almost a whisper. "I have to tell you something..."

"What is it?" Brendan asked, looking over at her. They were stopped at a light, even though no one else was coming any other way. Traffic lights were weird late at night.

She was staring down at her lap, hands twisting, "Over the last couple days, I've realized something and I really didn't actually you know, realize it until tonight. I found that box with the pictures of us you saved when I was cleaning your room... And tonight, when I was looking through it..."

She fell silent, closing her eyes tightly. Brendan didn't know what she was going to say. Whether she was creeped out and she never wanted to see him again or what...

Finally, Lily managed to whisper something, "I realized I'm still in love with you."


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Notes: Blah blah blah sorry it took so long, I lost faith, then found it again here's 16.

Chapter 16

Brendan sat there for a moment, just staring ahead of himself. The light turned green. He didn't notice.

"...Brendan?" Lily asked after a minute.

The light changed to yellow, then back to red. He barely noticed. Did he hear what he thought he heard? Was she really saying this? He let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

"...Brendan?" Lily asked again, more urgently. She was now leaning toward him, a almost scared look on her face.

"Do you really mean that?" He breathed, his fingers tightening on the steering wheel.

"I wouldn't have said it if I hadn't have meant it. I told you that a long time ago..." Lily replied, smiling softly.

A car behind them honked urgently. The light was green again.

"Hold on..." Brendan muttered, pressing on the gas and continuing home. They continued to Brendan's apartment in silence, the whole time Lily looking out the window and wondering whether or not she would regret tonight. When they parked in his spot, Brendan turned off the car.

"We should go inside and talk about this." He said softly, opening the car door and stepping out. Lily followed behind quickly, just staring at the ground.

They stepped into his apartment and he flipped on a soft light, shedding his jacket and hanging it up. He stood there, with his back to her.

"Lily... You can't imagine how long I've waited to hear those words from you.. How many nights I've dreamed of this... But I just have to know..." He turned around, looking down at her. "Did you realize this just because I helped you out with Wayne?"

Lily blinked, nearly stepping back in surprise. So this was what he'd been so worried about... "No, Brendan... Of course, that helped me see how you really felt, but I think I've always known that I still loved you-"

Suddenly his lips were on hers and he was pulling her up into his arms, kissing her gently and passionately at the same time. Everything running through Lily's mind stopped and melted away, the only thoughts left about how right this felt. She was finally where she belonged.

Slowly, he deepened the kiss, pulling her closer to him and running his hands down along her back, feeling every bit of her once again.

Then, as quickly as it had started, he pulled away, cursing to himself.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked softly, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"I really don't want this all to happen so fast... I don't wanna hurt you the way Wayne did." Brendan said in return, looking away from her. "I don't wanna be seen like that in your eyes."

Her hand reached up, cupping his cheek and pulling his face back toward hers, "I've never seen you that way, Brendan. I don't see how I ever could." She replied.

"Lily, you don't understand. If we start something tonight, after you saying all of this, I won't be able to stop like I was able to last time."

"I don't understand..."

"I just don't want to move so quickly, alright? I'm afraid of what I'd do to you..." Brendan closed his eyes, trying to forget all of the soft, low noises she had made during that kiss.

Just then, the phone rang shrilly, cutting through the thick silence. Brendan glanced at the clock. It was nearly one in the morning! Who would be calling at this time? He walked to the kitchen and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Brendan!" Came Thomas's cheerful tone. "I was just wondering if you saw Lily at your work tonight. I hope you did, because otherwise, she's stuck there."

"Yeah, I got her. But I can't really talk right now..." Brendan glanced over at Lily who was now sitting on the couch with her head down.

"Why not?"

"Because it's really late and we're tired." Brendan replied quickly, sighing inwardly.

"Oh... OHHHH, I see... Alright, well, I'll let you get back to whatever I interrupted..." Thomas knowingly said, insinuating what Brendan knew wouldn't be happening.

"Dude, it's not because of that. It's been a long day, okay? I..." Brendan lowered his voice, turning away from Lily, "I asked her out again..."

"Oh really? Awesome! Like, out-out? Or on a date out?"

"On a date out."

"Okay, good, cause I asked Alexis out on a date too. Tomorrow night, right? We can double up. It'll be less awkward."

"No it won't." Brendan replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay, it'll be less awkward for me. You know, the whole going from just friends to friends going out thing isn't a stranger for you, so I can ask you if she starts acting..." Thomas trailed off, searching for words.

"Like a girl?"

"Yeah, exactly."

"Okay, fine, whatever. I'll call you tomorrow for more information. But I really gotta go now." Brendan said firmly, pulling the phone away from his ear and muttering a quick bye before hitting the end button. He turned back to find Lily spread out on the couch, breathing slowly and deeply.

He walked over to her and crouched down, his face hovering over hers, his lips a mere inch away from hers. Taking a deep breath, he pulled back and instead reached under the couch and pulled out the extra blanket he kept stashed there. Unfolding it, he covered her up and made sure her feet were tucked in after taking off her shoes.

(AND JEREMY AND HANNAH GOT MARRIED AWWW)

Moving back up to her face, he brushed the hair away and watched her sleep, smiling to himself. He found his smile fading as his eyes focused on her lips, which were slightly parted at the moment, tempting him beyond all reason. Closing his eyes, he sighed and kissed her forehead, forcing himself to do no more than that. Pulling away, he walked to his room, telling himself not to look back the whole way.

Lily awoke slowly, becoming more and more aware of the fact that she was cold. She tried to ignore it, pulling the blanket tighter around herself and rolling over. It was then that she realized she was on Brendan's couch. Sitting up, she looked around, noting the time on a brightly glowing digital clock in the kitchen. 3:56 AM. Blinking slowly, she struggled to remember how she got here. She remembered going to Brendan's work... Falling asleep in the hallway... Him taking her home, her confessing her undying love, so to speak, their kissing and then the phone... That must've been when she fell asleep.

Suddenly she noticed she was extremely thirsty. Getting up, she kept the blanket wrapped around herself and slipped into the kitchen, getting some water from the dispenser in his refrigerator's door. Taking a long swig, she glanced over and noticed light creeping out under Brendan's door. Not bright enough to be his bedroom light, maybe his lamp, though... Lily wondered if he was still awake.

Making her way over to his room, she knocked softly on the door before opening it, sticking her head inside. She found Brendan on his bed, propped up against some pillows with a open book laying on his chest, fast asleep. Smiling to herself, she slipped inside. Stepping up near him, she saw it was a Stephen King novel, a rather old one he'd read several times and smiled to herself, remembering what a book worm he was at times. A part of his more nerdy side that he liked to hide.

Dropping her blanket on the bed, she slowly removed the book from his loose grip, dog-earing the page before closing it and setting it near his computer. Reaching for the lamp, she clicked it off and waited for her eyes to adjust, watching him sleep. She found herself smiling warmly, and reaching out to touch his face. He pressed against her hand and she blushed slightly, wondering what he was dreaming about and how this was affecting it.

He let out a happy sigh and slid down his pillows a bit, becoming more comfortable obviously. Moving closer to him, her blush increased as she tentatively ran a finger over his lower lip, biting her own as she closely recalled the feeling of it against hers. Slowly, she get even nearer, so she could feel his soft breath against her face. Closing her eyes, she asked for just a moment's bliss before he woke up and gently pressed her lips against his.

Under her, he twitched a bit, his eyes flying open to find Lily there, kissing him softly. He expected her to immediately pull back, but she didn't, instead taking his moment of surprise into advantage and deepening the kiss. The moment her shy tongue slipped over his lips, he closed his eyes, taking this all in as a wonderful dream come true, not even wondering why it was happening.

As soon as he began returning her kiss, Lily drew back quickly, a surprised and scared look on her face. Immediately, she began moving away, muttering an apology. He caught her hand and pulled her back slowly. Once she was close enough, he pulled her onto the bed with him, nearly on top of him and slipped easily back into the kiss, sliding his hands into her hair and really enjoying it.

Lily quickly got over her surprise and returned the kiss, just as much. Suddenly, it was as if a wave of passion washed over them, intensifying the kiss nearly tenfold, making Brendan let out a soft and slow moan, pulling Lily up against him. She wrapped an arm around him, the other resting against his bare chest, both feeling his flesh slowly, remembering every bit.

He broke the kiss, going for her neck; he began softly sucking and playfully biting, then moved down to her shoulders, pushing her shirt out of the way to taste that part of her, his arm around her waist, keeping her up against him.

Forcing himself to stop for a minute, he breathed, "Lily, if you want me to stop, tell me now..." Looking up into her eyes, he saw a bit of a scared look, then suddenly another feeling washing over it that he completely recognized: love.

Pulling him even closer to her, she kissed his neck softly, whispering into it, "I don't wanna stop... I wanna be with you tonight."

Author's Notes: Yes, I can just leave it at that right now. I need to write the optional chapter, which is yes, a lemon. I don't know if is still all anti-lemon people, so I'm just going to have it available through me. If you want it, e-mail me at or IM me at retiredemobar (aim), haterofmath (yahoo), and my e-mail again for msn.


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning, Lily awoke to the sun streaming in through Brendan's curtains and blinked, her eyes still heavy with fatigue. Deciding she didn't want to wake up just yet, she snuggled back up to Brendan's bare chest. Smiling to herself, as the memories from the night before resurfaced in her mind.

Picking her head up, she glanced up to see Brendan watching her, a warm smile on his lips. Lily blushed a bit before smiling back shyly.

"Morning, Lily..." He said softly, running his fingers through her hair.

"Hi..." Was all she could manage, laying her head back down on him.

"Did you sleep well?" His voice sounded deeper and louder inside his chest, reverberating in the ear that was currently relaxing upon it.

"Yeah... Did you?" She asked, looking back up at him.

"Better than I ever have before," Brendan murmured, pulling her up to his level and kissing her lips softly, "Feeling alright?"

"Mhmm... I feel... Happy..." Lily whispered, closing her eyes in contentment. Brendan realized how much that meant to her and pulled her up against himself.

"So do I..."

Suddenly Lily's cell phone began to ring, her ringtone for the unknown numbers. Sighing, she rolled over and fished her cell phone out from under a pile of clothes, flipping it open. Not recognizing the number, she brought it up to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Where the hell are you?" Came a demanding voice. Lily was suddenly filled with dread instead of the warmth from Brendan's body.

"Wayne?" She whispered. Brendan quickly moved closer to her.

"I'm standing out side your house, where are you!" Wayne demanded again, nearly screaming into her ear.

"I-I'm..." Lily struggled, turning back to Brendan, who grabbed the phone from her.

"She's with me." He said firmly, looking straight at Lily.

"Who is this?" Wayne growled, "And what are you doing with my girl?"

"She's not your girl anymore. She's mine now and I'm not ever giving her back to you. This is the guy who pulled you off of her the night you tried to rape her again. Why the hell are you trying to talk to her again?"

"Oh, so she's at your apartment?"

"Yeah, and I'd stay away from her if I were you. I have no problem with putting you in your place again."

"Look, I just wanna talk to her."

"I don't care. Do not call her again." Brendan growled before snapping the phone closed. Looking over at Lily, he saw her expressionless face and reached over her, dropping her phone back onto the clothes. "He's gonna leave you alone now..."

"Thank you..." Lily said softly, wrapping her arms around him as he was nearly over her, putting her phone back. Brendan moved back onto his side, returning the embrace fully, nuzzling her hair.

"I love you, Lily..." He whispered into her ear, moving to trail kisses down over her neckline.

"I love you too..." She sighed, tilting her head back to give him better access, "I always have..."

LOLOLOLOLOL (Time passes)

Later that evening, Lily found herself sitting in a restaurant next to Brendan and across from Alexis and Thomas. Brendan's arm was loosely around her and Thomas seemed to have already figured out what that meant. They talked and laughed though dinner before heading off to the movie theater.

Lily enjoyed most of the film while leaning up against Brendan and kissing ever once in a while. When the movie had began, Thomas and Alexis had just been sitting side by side, but as the credits rolled and the lights returned, Thomas had his arm around Alexis snuggly and she was resting her head on him.

They went to Thomas's house afterwards to play some Halo and a bit of DDR, mostly just practicing for the tournament. Around one AM, Lily and Brendan went back to his apartment and fell asleep once more in each other's arms.

The rest of the break went by quickly. Brendan worked occasionally, but mostly they just spent time with each other or hung out with Alexis and Thomas, who were now officially dating. Lily found herself much too quickly back in Brendan's truck as he was taking her home. School was the next day and her parents were back from her aunt's.

He pulled into her driveway, turned off his truck and turned to kiss her for the final time tonight.

"I'm gonna miss having you in my bed..." He whispered, wrapping his arms around her.

"I'll miss that too, but at least we can see each other at school and afterwards tomorrow." Lily replied, hugging him back.

"Yeah, I know... I'll call you later tonight, okay?" Brendan kissed her again, as a promise. Lily nodded and slipped out of the car.

Saying hello to her parents, she actually sat down to talk with them and get her tournament's papers filled out. When she told them that she'd broken up with Wayne, her mom was relieved and hugger her. Both of her parents were overjoyed when she told them about her and Brendan being back together again.

At nine, she took a quick shower and got back in her room just in time to hear her phone beeping at her about having a new voice mail. Thinking it was Brendan, she quickly checked.

"Now he knows."

Lily immediately pulled the phone away. That was it, no explanation, just that quick message. Checking her missed calls, it just said 'unknown number'. Feeling kind of creeped out, she called Brendan and told him about it. Brendan said he didn't know and told her she probably shouldn't worry about it tonight.

They talked for a few hours, just like they had in the past, and kept repeating "I love you" every few minutes just like they used to. When they were both beginning to drift to sleep while on the phone, they decided to get some sleep and hung up. Lily's head had barely hit the pillow before she was out.

LOLOLOLOLOL (Time passes)

The next morning, her dad woke her up and for the first time in what seemed like forever, she quickly got ready, actually looking forward to the day. When her father dropped her off in front of the school, she hurried inside, looking around for Brendan.

The first thing she was made her nearly stop breathing and her heartbeat begin to race, not in the good way. Not the way it did around Brendan. The first thing she saw was Wayne, staring straight at her with a dark look in his eyes. Adriel was right beside him, smirking. That was the voice that had been on her phone... Adriel's. Why the hell had he left that message?

Deciding that she didn't want to find out, now that they were both making their way toward her, she quickly spun around and dashed down the nearest hallway she could find. As soon as the doors closed behind her, they were thrown back open again and Lily glanced behind her to see Wayne and Adriel quickly catching up to her.

Panicking, Lily dashed into the nearest room, turning around and trying to lock the door before they could get in. In her hurry, she was fumbling and missed the lock each time, her hands shaking. Suddenly, the door was shoved open, flinging her back. She lost her balance and landed on her butt, but she quickly turned and scrambled up, beginning to run. A hand grabbed her backpack and she dropped it, along with her jacket, getting away.

It was only after she'd ran down a few rows of them, did she realize that she had run into one of the locker rooms, and judging by the smell, it was the boys'. Lily pressed her back against the lockers, trying to calm her breathing.

"Lily, come out here, you little slut." Wayne growled, hitting a locker, making it rattle loudly and also making her jump.

"Yeah, Lily. He knows about you and Brendan. How you were cheating on him the whole time." Came Adriel's voice, making her clench her teeth.

Holding her breath, she closed her eyes and prayed for them not to come down this far.

"Gotcha." A whisper, right before a hand shot out, grabbing her wrist tightly. Wayne came out next to her, holding her close to him as she struggled to get away. Adriel came around the other side, stopping a couple feet away. Lily heard a snip and suddenly a piece of duct tape was over her mouth. She tried to cry out, but it only came out muffled, making Wayne laugh.

"Hold her for me." Wayne ordered, and Adriel stepped up, grabbing her wrists and shoving them up over her head.

Wayne stepped back, smiling darkly at her. Turning around, her pulled something out of his pocket, then something else from his other. He was silent for a moment, staring down at the items in his hand.

"Did you really think I wouldn't find out about you and Brendan?" He paused, turning back to her, "Well, I did. Now you get to pay for what you did."

It was then that Lily saw what he was holding. His pocket knife, opened up and shimmering in the light, and two condoms, one of which he tossed to Adriel, who caught it with the hand that wasn't holding Lily down. Immediately, Lily began to struggle, but Adriel was stronger than she'd thought.

"I hope you like being treated like what you are." Adriel muttered. Lily finally got one hand free and smacked him as hard as she possibly could. He recoiled quickly, letting go of her other hand as well. Taking advantage of Wayne's surprise, Lily quickly rushed away from him, heading for the door. The lights went out and she stumbled, willing her eyes to adjust before Wayne caught up with her. They didn't, and suddenly two arms wrapped around her waist and she was tackled onto the ground.

She was flipped over and above her was Wayne with a sneer on his face as he scrambled to get her arms back above her head. For a moment, she was able to hit him, but Adriel stepped in, and together they forced her hands up above her head, Wayne straddling her hips.

A sick smile that Lily had come to recognize tugged his lips upward, causing Lily to shudder. His hands, colder than she remembered, quickly slid under her shirt and Lily let out a muffled cry. This couldn't be happening again... It had to be a dream.

Slowly it dawned on her that this was not a dream and there was no way she could escape. Hell, she couldn't escape when it was just Wayne, and now Wayne had a disgusting friend to help out.

"Dude, we don't really have time for foreplay." Adriel muttered. Wayne glanced down at his watch and cursed, moving off of her. For a moment, Lily was relieved. They were to let her go... But then that relief turned back into terror as Wayne began to unbutton her jeans. Even as she struggled, he had gotten the button undone and the zipper all the way down, although it took him a couple tries.

He reached down for the sides and began to drag them down off of her. Lily freaked out and brought a knee up, hitting his jaw pretty hard. Wayne let out and obscenity and lifted his hand to strike her. Hard.

"Dude, hurry up... We're not gonna have enough time for both of us to fuck her if you don't hurry." Adriel hissed. Wayne slowly lowered his hand, glaring at her before jerking her jeans down and off of her hips, then legs. The cement floor was cold against her bare flesh as Wayne pushed her legs down, positioning himself above her.

Looking straight into her eyes, he grinned at her and began undoing his own jeans. Lily turned her head in disgust, closing her eyes. Suddenly, the sound of a door opening echoed through the room.


	18. Chapter 18

As the door creaked open, all three of them quickly froze. Light filtered over the ceiling of the locker room and streams escaped through a few holes in the lockers. Wayne turned to Adriel and mouthed silently, "Go, check it out..." Adriel nodded and stood up straight, glancing down the hallway but seeing no one there, just the open door.

Wayne struggled with Lily, pinning her under him, almost completely immobile, and removed the knife from being pressed up against her neck. He tossed it to Adriel, who caught it without cutting himself, but barely so. Adriel looked at the knife, then back at Wayne, puzzled. "Just in case it's not a teacher. We really don't need any goddamn do-gooders right now."

Adriel nodded and slipped into the hallway, trying to be as quiet as possible. He wasn't doing very well.

Wayne turned back to Lily, who was opening her mouth wide to scream, but his large, meaty hand, easily covered it before anything could get out. She struggled with him, trying to get him off or at least his hand away, but he was much to strong for her. Suddenly, she felt something like cold metal being shoved up into her jugular, and a click. She froze, recognizing the sounds all too well. It was Wayne's father's .45 calibur pistol that he kept under the seat in his truck to show off when he was drunk.

"No one's going to save you this time. Not Brendan, not any student, and no teacher is going to come in here this early. You're going to be mine." Wayne hissed, pushing the barrel in further, almost making her gag. She nodded weakly. If he got what he wanted, maybe he wouldn't be as pissed if Brendan was the one that had come in. Anything to keep him from getting hurt. She closed her eyes and felt Wayne's cold fingers slipping under her underwear, beginning to pull them down. Anything...

When Brendan arrived at school that morning, he saw Lily's father's truck pulling away and quickly parked in the senior parking lot, barely remembering to lock his door before rushing into the school building. He expected to see Lily sitting there with Thomas, waiting for him, but she wasn't there. He walked over to Thomas, confused, and sat down.

"Hey man, what's up?" Thomas asked, smiling at him.

"Have you seen Lily?" Brendan replied quickly, looking around the cafeteria but still seeing no sign of her.

"I think so... But she disappeared before I could call her name. Maybe she's visiting teachers or some friends." Thomas shrugged, taking a drink out of his water bottle.

"I doubt it... This is really weird. She told me she'd meet me here this morning. She said she missed me a lot... Why would she just run off to meet with teachers or friends she hasn't spoken to for a looong time?" Brendan said aloud, mostly to himself. Thomas shrugged again and smiled warmly as Alexis came running up to the table. Instead of immediately latching onto Thomas like she usually did, Alexis turned to Brendan, catching her breath.

"Lily's in trouble!" She said urgently, pulling him to his feet.

"What?" Brendan and Thomas exclaimed, staring straight at her.

"I overheard him on the phone last night talking to Wayne about some revenge on Lily. I asked him what the hell he was talking about and he wouldn't tell me. Then he delibertly left early this morning without giving me a ride. I had to wake up my dad to get here. But something's really bad going to happen to her, I can feel it." Alexis said, looking around for any sign of where they might have gone. She spotted a group of jocks standing around where Wayne usually was. Pushing Brendan over there, she and Thomas stood a few feet away, watching him.

"Hey um, guys. Did you see where Wayne went this morning? Maybe?" Brendan asked, trying to seem cool enough to talk to them. Half of them rolled their eyes, but one freshman, looking nervous, spoke up about him going to catch some chick down a hallway, which he was pointing at. The rest of the jock-looking guys were now glaring at him strongly and Brendan guessed that he was NOT supposed to say that.

Brendan thanked him and rushed off, keeping a fast pace until he got into the hallway where teachers and Assistant Principals would see, where he broke out into a full-on sprint, Thomas and Alexis keeping, but not easily. When he reached the boys locker room, the first place a scared girl would probably dash, he stopped and turn around to face the other two.

"I'm gonna go in there, you guys stay out here. Wait 7 minutes, then come in." Brendan said quietly, looking both in the eyes.

Thomas nodded, and Alexis questioned, "Why 7?"

"5 might be too little and 10 might be too long." Brendan replied, Thomas nodding in agreement. Alexis shrugged and Brendan turned around, opening the locker room's door. He slipped inside, silently, and looked around. Right down the hallway was Lily's backpack and jacket, lying on the floor. He rushed forward to them, checking for any indication that she might be hurt. He saw nothing that noted she was or wasn't.

Brendan's ears pricked up as he heard footsteps approaching, the kind that were attempting stealth and failing miserably. He slid near a row of lockers, hiding himself in the shadows and between two rows of lockers that were spread just enough for him to squeeze into. Sure enough, Adriel rounded that corner, walking straight by him without even noticing. He held something in his hand... From the way he was gripping it, it was obviously a blade of some sort, but he had no idea how big or sharp. Sliding out quietly, he quickly caught up with Adriel and wrapped his arm around Adriel's thin neck, grasping the hand that held the knife. Wrestling it out of his grasp, he put it up to his throat.

"Scream and die. Where are Lily and Wayne? Where'd he take her?" Brendan whispered, just loud enough for Adriel to hear, but nobody else. Adriel gulped and nodded, beginning to walk forward, Brendan on his tail.

Wayne had barely gotten her panties down an inch when Adriel rounded the corner with Brendan up behind him, holding Wayne's knife to his neck. Brendan took a sharp breath, seeing the gun barrel pressed up against her delicate throat and his fingers under her underwear. The gun was already cocked. Immediately, Wayne raised the gun and aimed at him, a cold look in his eyes. He was obviously pissed.

Adriel was beginning to shake, and Brendan steadied the knife's position. "You want to shoot me with your croney right here?" Brendan hissed, glaring harshly at Wayne.

Wayne lowered the gun, then grinned and shoved it back into Lily's neck, "You want to cut him with a gun in your girlfriend's throat?" He replied haughtly, still watching Brendan. Brendan quickly released the knife, letting it drop to the concrete floor, making a loud banging noise.

"Don't hurt her. Please." He let go of Adriel, who nearly fell over with relief, bending down to pick up the knife before turning it back on Brendan. "Do whatever you want to me, just don't... Don't touch her anymore."

"On your knees." Wayne hissed. Brendan immediately complied and Wayne stood up, leaving Lily there, shaking. He walked over to where Brendan was, slumped over and staring at the ground. "You would die for this whore?" He asked, standing over him.

Brendan raised his head to look at Lily, who was now sitting up somewhat, Adriel close enough to make sure she wouldn't leave. Her hair was a mess, all over her face and tears were running down her cheeks, her eyes scratchy and red from the crying. Still, she had him in awe of her. "She's not a whore. She's my love... My life. My reason for going on. I would do anything for her. Anything." Brendan said softly, a tear rolling down his cheek. He squeezed his eyes shut as Wayne placed the barrel at the top of his skull.

"Anything?" Wayne repeated, expecting Brendan to try and snatch the gun away or duck down.

"Anything." Brendan nodded, opening his eyes again to see Lily crying, her face in her hands, her head shaking.

Wayne laughed, removing the barrel and instead raising his hand high and coming down quickly. Brendan caught it in an flash of movement, twisting the arm around, in very much the wrong way. Wayne's chuckle quickly turned into an outcry of pain. Brendan stood up, forcing Wayne's arm into a more awkward and painful position, now making Wayne kneel in pain. He bent down and forced the gun from his fingers, de-cocking it and throwing it to the side.

"Now you get to make a decision. Would you rather have your arm broken and lose your chance for the footbal season or never touch, look at, contact, or think about Lily again?" Brendan growled, staring straight down at him.

Wayne whimpered and tried meakly to pull away, but Brendan only forced his arm a tiny bit more, increasing the pain quite a bit, but not breaking it quite yet. "Which one?"

Suddenly Brendan was caught off-guard by Lily's shout in warning, and he barely looked up in time to move, millimeters away from having a knife shoved into his shoulder. Brendan leaped up, kicking Adriel square in the stomach, sending the knife flying away as he was thrown into a pair of lockers, falling down immediately after. Wayne pulled away and tried for the knife, but Lily was up in time to kick it away from him, but only so much where it was a few feet away now.

Wayne glanced at Brendan, who was a couple feet behind him and they both stared before he was making a rush for the knife. Brendan dove for it, but his fingers only hit concrete and he fell onto his back as Wayne came over him, his eyes glinting with malice as he raised the knife high up. Brendan braced himself for impact, raising his arms to help stop it, but nothing came.

When he opened his eyes again, Thomas was behind him, wrestling with Wayne's closed fist and trying to force Wayne onto the floor. Brendan got up and helped, nearly tackling him. As soon as he could, Thomas used the hilt of the knife and bashed it into the back of Wayne's skull, quickly knocking him unconcious. They let his body hit the floor and Thomas helped Brendan up, wrapping his arm around his shoulders to steady him.

"Glad you didn't say 8 minutes..." Thomas said after a moment, getting a slight laugh from Brendan, who was still staring down at Wayne.

They made their way down to where Lily had been, and Brendan was suddenly tackled by Lily, who had taken the time to put on her pants again. Brendan returned the embrace strongly, feeling her whole body shaking in fear... Or happiness. Or both. Lily burried her face in shoulder, murmuring, "I thought I was going to lose you again... Forever."

"That will never happen, Lily. I promise..." He whispered into her ear, holding her tightly against him. Alexis stood behind her, smiling softly. Brendan assumed that Thomas had sent her to check on Lily and himself went after Wayne.

Just then, the bell rang, signalling the students to begin to head for their classes. All four of them looked down at Adriel. "We'll go flag down a teacher... Tell them to call the cops. Lily, you're going to have to talk about this. So are you, Brendan. And Thomas. And me..." Alexis muttered to herself, looking around. She and Thomas headed for the doorway that was closest and actually led out into the main hallway, not just the gym's section. Brendan kept his arm around Lily as they began to gather up her things that had fallen out of her pockets during the struggle.

Heading down the hallway for her backpack, Brendan immediately noticed that Wayne was no longer lying there. "Shit..." He muttered, quickly heading down the rest of the hallway and shoving through the door to look down the gym area's hallway. He saw just the students, all filing in for PE or Athletics, but didn't recognize Wayne in all of the chaos. He returned to where Lily was, handing her her backpack. "He's gone." He said.

Lily knew exactly what he was talking about and sighed inwardly. Of course he was gone. Nothing was ever that easily over with. Adriel was now beginning to stir and suddenly a teacher and a coach busted into the room, the lights flickering on. The coach noticed the gun immediately and Adriel slumped over, but twitching. "What the hell happened?" He cried, bending down to see if Adriel was okay.

"He and Wayne Cofsky. They tried to rape me. Brendan came in to save me, but Wayne pulled a gun out. They got into a fight... I don't know what else..." Lily trailed off, glancing at Brendan.

"I got the gun away, but he got a knife. He was going to stab me, but Thomas got in here just in time. We wrestled with him and knocked him out for good measure. But he escaped when we were helping Lily. I don't know where he went." Brendan finished, nodding seriously.

"Are you serious? He tried to rape you in here? Did you even know this Wayne?" The teacher asked, crossing her arms.

"Yes! I was dating him, but he raped me and I didn't want to be with him... He tried to rape me again a week ago, but Brendan saved me there, too. He's raped me 4 times and tried to rape me twice now. I want... I want to press charges." Lily finished softly.

"I want the reporting officer to be Officer Hawthorne. He'll take good care of her." Brendan commanded, keeping his arm around her shoulders securely.

"And this one?" The coach asked, motioning to Adriel.

"He was helping Wayne. If he can tell me where Wayne might've gone, I won't press charges. But if he can't, I want to." Lily nodded firmly, feeling less and less weak every second.

After the cops arrived at the scene, Lily was escorted out and interviewed by Brendan's father, and they also caught up a bit. She'd really missed him as well as Brendan. Brendan was also interviewed, along with Thomas and Alexis. Lily was going to be taken downtown for questioning the next day and they were all excused from school for the next couple days as the school calmed down in general.

After a week, Wayne was nowhere to be found still. The cops had checked everywhere they could think of and had no clues to lead them elsewhere. His family was refusing to give any information, his mother a lawyer and knowing just what to say and what not to. No one was talking to Lily or Brendan, just staring and she got used to it for a while. They left for their tournament and came in third place, mostly because they hadn't practiced in weeks. But they both agreed that they would try again next year. After a month, everything went back to normal, but there still had been no sign of Wayne. The cops kept the file open and posted fliers, but it looked pretty hopeless. Adriel's case was still awaiting trial and Lily was all prepared for it.

As she lay in Brendan's arms one Saturday night, a month after the locker room incident, Lily realized everything had actually turned out okay. She was getting over what Wayne had done to her; she would never really forget, but she wasn't thinking about it nearly as often anymore. Alexis and Thomas also seemed to have grown closer over everything and they two actually were snuggled up on Brendan's other couch. All of them were watching Lain, but none of them seemed to actually be paying attention. If this is how the rest of high school and probably her life was going to be, Lily was quite alright with it.

TEH ACTUAL END!

AN: Actually, I plan to write a sequel. I re-wrote the 18th chapter because I couldn't really write a good sequel with it, so I hope you guys like this one better. I know I do!


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